Poké Wars: The Subsistence
by Cornova
Summary: I think back on those peaceful days we took for granted. When our genocide wasn't even conceivable, when killing a Pokemon was crazy, when a simple Ember didn't end in 3rd degree burns, and when I didn't worry about whether I would live to see morning.
1. Bump in the night

**This story takes place right after episode 553 - Fighting Fear with Fear. So I guess you could consider this an alternate universe**

**I do not own Pokémon, cause if I did, I would probably be loaded with cash.**

**A big thanks to my beta reader Civie for this chapter**

**August 16**

* * *

"Dawn, wake up." Ash said. "Can you hear me?"

Dawn shifted position in her sleep, making no sign of waking of.

"DAWN!" Ash was now yelling and shaking the young blue haired girl in question after he had been done whispering and poking gently.

This had some effect on Dawn, and she slowly opened her eyes.

"Huh, what? Morning?" she mumbled, still half asleep.

"Oh…good morning Ash" she managed to say before collapsing on her bed again. Ash scratched his head in frustration.

"Dawn, I want to get my next badge. And Hearthome is just a few miles away!"

"Don't worry, don't worry I'll be up soon"

"That just makes me more worried" Ash said, nearly pulling his hair out of frustration.

"We've been here way too long, you've slept till noon, and I've already looked around the town twice and done everything that seemed interesting. We've already stocked up on food and supplies and…_wow_…I've never seen your hair that bad before" Ash said, sounding genuinely concerned.

"WHAT!" Dawn immediately jumped up, procuring a mirror and comb seemingly from the air.

"_That_ got your attention" Ash chuckled, tossing her hat onto her lap. Dawn gazed into her reflection only to find nothing out of place.

"That was cruel. You know how I feel about my hair," Dawn's eyes like daggers, sticking out her tongue and turning away from Ash to start packing her things.

Ash's head swiveled back and forth, scanning the room, "Where's Brock? He said he was going to…_oh_."

Brock's Croagunk came in, walking in their direction, dragging its unconscious master with him by the leg across the linoleum floor. Once close enough, Croagunk dropped his master's leg before Ash.

"Tried to flirt with a nurse Joy?" Ash inquired solemnly.

Croagunk nodded in disappointment.

"Knocked him out before he went too far?" Ash asked; Croagunk nodded again, searching through Brock's vest, finding his pokéball and returning himself.

"I do hope that he's all right," Nurse Joy remarked upon seeing Brock's unconscious form on the floor as she approached.

"He'll be fine" Ash said reassuringly," he's used to this kind of thing, this has happened many times before."

"Well if you put it like that…" the nurse's concerned gaze shifting from Brock to Pikachu upon Ash's shoulder. As she saw Pikachu, her face cleared.

"Oh! What a cute Pikachu! I love electric Pokémon," Nurse Joy said, her hand moving over and ruffling the fur on Pikachu's head, making Pikachu squeal with delight.

"Wild electric Pokémon are very common in this town, they tend to walk through here when it gets really dark. When I watch them pass by, their electricity makes them glow in the night. It's really a sight, you should see it," she explained, "this building is actually able to divert electrical attacks into the ground. This is the only Pokémon center that was made that way due to the abundance of electric Pokémon".

"Ash, I'm done packing" Dawn said as she slung her bag over her shoulder and stood up.

"We'd love to stay and see that…but we really should get going. I'm going to try and get my next badge in Hearthome City," Ash said.

"And I'm going to compete in the Hearthome City coordinator contest" Dawn added.

"Oh, that's alright. I hope you have a safe journey and good luck getting your badge, Hearthome should be twenty miles away from here" Nurse Joy replied, waving farewell as she returned to her position at the counter, having a new client to take care of a few seconds later.

Brock immediately rose up, stood and dusted off his pants, acting as if nothing had happened.

"We ready to go?" Brock asked; Ash and Dawn nodded. The cheery chime as the doors whooshed open continued to echo in Ash's ears as he left the confines of the Pokémon center. They began heading towards the town's exit, an old couple greeted them and bid them farewell from afar. It was a nice enough town, not large enough to show up on any major map, but nice enough to pass by and take lodging for the night after coming through the forest nearby. They had just come from the forest where Ash's Gligar had evolved into a Gliscor, courtesy of Ash's old rival, Gary, who just happened to be in the neighborhood and had a Razor Fang on hand.

Reaching the city would be half a day's journey on foot and it was starting to get late into the night. Ash immediately blamed their lack of distance traveled on Dawn's extended nap.

Oddly enough, Dawn was the first to doze off as soon as they had set up camp, and Ash was next, leaving Brock the tranquility and solitude he desired so that he could write in his journal, tending to write down recipes for the next morning meals, or straying off into fantasies of women, most often nurse Joy and officer Jenny. When he felt he had written enough, he set the book down in a hidden flap within his vest and went to sleep.

* * *

After what had been enough time, Ash's eyes fluttered open, scanning for slumber among his group. He had been sleeping on his side and shifted into a more comfortable position without trying to wake up the curled bundle of sleeping fur that was Pikachu, resting beside him.

He stared into the sky; he recognized the constellations that night. They looked exactly like the ones that he and Ritchie had stared at; he wondered where Ritchie was now. His head slowly turned, his gaze loomed over Brock's sleeping form and onto Dawn. Her things had been neatly packed away in her backpack and she had slept in her clothes like each of them always did before they reached a suitable city to sleep in.

She was more comfortable with them now, he no longer saw her use her tent like she used to at the start of her journey. Ash began counting as the topmost part of her sleeping bag rose and fell with every light breath she took. A blush had begun to paint itself along his cheeks; he could feel the weird sensations take over him. He sharply looked away, cursing silently at no one in particular but at himself.

This was happening more frequently now, every time he stared at Dawn or at any girl that considered cute, he would feel this way. Back then it had been rare, only Misty had been capable of making him blush. She had been long gone, and he hadn't felt that way towards May, but then, he hadn't seen her in a while either as this new sensations were beginning to come more frequently in the past few weeks. Ash began to think back at how he had asked Brock, and the reaction had been ecstatic.

* * *

"_Yeah, well that's how I've been feeling, ya know?"_

"_That's great, you've done a good job coming to tell me this. It may have taken you a while but you've finally started your journey to manhood. No offense, but personally, I was starting to wonder whether you played for the other…never mind, I'll teach you the way to get all the girls like I d-"_

The conversation had been cut short as Croagunk escaped from his pokéball and proceeded to jab Brock in the side, dragging his limp master away with only a glance saying "sorry 'bout him, I'll keep him on a tighter leash next time."

* * *

Ash really hoped that he wouldn't start acting out like Brock whenever he saw a girl, which is why he silently thanked Croagunk for the rescue. Was this feeling normal? He had been traveling with girls before, about four years in total, he was fourteen now, why wouldn't he feel it then?

His thoughts reverted back to Misty and May, the weird sensation bubbling inside him again. He squirmed within his sleeping bag, silently cursing within his mind. "I have to think of something else, something to get my mind off this." His head had turned towards the ball of fur beside him; Pikachu's breathing rhythm was the same as Dawn's.

He tried to focus on other subjects, knowing to stay clear from thinking about getting his next gym badge, otherwise he would never get to sleep. He thought about Paul, probably already at Hearthome and getting the-.

"_Okay, don't think about Paul_…_ think about… about…" _Ash's sentence never finished as fatigue began to settle in and slumber took residence.

* * *

Ash had been dreaming of obtaining his next badge when Pikachu's sudden screeches of pain reached his ears. The sound had woken everyone up with a start. Pikachu's screams were almost ear-shattering, his paws clutching his head, and looking like he was attempting to be bury himself beneath the ground to escape whatever was assaulting him. Bolts of lightning erupted from Pikachu's body, tentacles of lightning slithering across the ground.

"Ash, what's wrong with Pikachu?" Brock yelled as he backed away from the minefield of writhing lightning.

"I don't know!" Ash replied, slowly trudging towards the center of destruction, "I'm going to try and calm Pikachu down!"

Dawn had been staring at the lightning; she hadn't been with them for very long, but she could tell the lighting that sprung from Pikachu was different. Very different.

"Ash, be careful, something's wrong with Pikachu's lightning." Dawn screamed with a noticeable undertone of fear in her voice.

"Don't worry, I've been shocked by Pikachu before" Ash said reassuringly, his arms shielding his eyes from the bright flashes.

Dawn had been tracing a bolt of lightning that snaked its way to a tree, her eyes widening as she saw the tree splinter, and burst into flames. Her gaze swiveled to the ground around Ash's feet, a molten glow radiating from what appeared to be glass within the trenches left behind by the tendrils of lightning.

"Ash! Stop! Come back, it's too dangerous, Pikachu's electricity…it's…different!"

The loud zaps and buzzes rung in Ash's ears, dampening all sound around him. The sound of Dawn's screams just barely grazed his eardrums amidst the drone of lightning. He hadn't heard what she had said, but recognized the utter fear in her voice.

Dawn darted towards Ash who had stopped his movements for a reason unknown to her. Suddenly, Dawn's backpack, Ash's backpack, and Brock's vest burst in flashes of light; their Pokémon freed from their spherical shelters. All of them began thrashing from pain, all trying to find ways to cope with it. Brock couldn't help but gawk as his Sudowoodo smashed its head against trees, instantly splintering them, or against the ground and leaving fractures.

Brock woke from his daze, immediately thrusting his hand and grabbing Dawn's collar, but almost immediately losing his grip as Dawn darted toward Ash. The flashes behind Ash came to his attention, turning to see Dawn began running towards him; her voice now inaudible to his deafened ears. Her hands clamped onto his, desperately tugging him away from Pikachu.

Brock held back a far distance from the lightning range; he was torn in whether to go after Dawn and Ash, stop the Pokémon from hurting themselves, or staying safe. Forcing himself to a decision, he went with his instincts and found himself running towards them, only to stop dead in his tracks. Ash could see the reflection of what they feared in the pools that were their eyes; his neck relented and turned to the source of their awe.

It was like a pillar of lightning, stabbing through the clouds and into the very heavens themselves. A large surge descended down the column of lightning. With renewed vigor, Dawn managed to pull Ash away from Pikachu. Brock's body seemed to remember what it was to move again, dashing towards Dawn and Ash, throwing them over his imaginary safe line.

"Cover your ears!" Brock yelled before the blast connected with Pikachu. Ash and Dawn did as they were told, keeping their hands clamped over their ears even as the force of the explosion sent them tumbling across the earth. The smell of ozone filled the air as lightning tore up the ground, leaving no inch uprooted. Finely powdered rubble coated their frozen figures within the earthy cloud; nothing seemed to utter a sound.

Ash and Dawn were paralyzed with fear, their stillness slowly turning to uncontrollable trembles that resonated throughout their bodies. Ash willed his body against the unfounded fear to move, gradually turning towards the center of the explosion.

"BROCK!" Ash screamed blindly into the mist; but nothing replied. Ash could feel a tug on his arm, Dawn whispering his name. "BROCK!" Ash screamed again.

"ASH!"

The haze began to clear from where the voice came from. Ash couldn't help but stare silently in awe, his mouth slightly ajar, and his mind letting the thought sink in: Brock was okay.

Brock's figure parted the mist, his caring smile visible to both of them now. Dawn released Ash's arm from her death grip, both of them scrambling to get to their uninjured companion. A cold nightly breeze swept the rest of the opaque rubble residue from the air, showing them what was left of their camp sight.

The soil had been upturned everywhere, trees had been blown away, the lingering ones set aflame with leafless branches. Their personal belongings had been shredded, the scattered remains everywhere and slowly being blown away. Shadowed figures of their Pokémon sprawled across the clearing.

Ash's eyes widened until Brock's hand came down on his shoulder; a reassuring squeeze is all it took. "They've all fainted, but otherwise they don't seem to have any serious injuries so don't worry " Brock muttered before scanning the ground for their pokéballs. Ash and Dawn followed his example and searched for their own as well.

Ash found where Pikachu lay out cold; a deep crater, scorched black by the attack and layered with cracked molten glass. Ash lifted Pikachu gingerly into his arms, cradling it gently. It was like an Easter egg-hunt as Dawn, Ash, and Brock found their pokéballs still intact, but slightly scuffed up. They had gathered what was left of their belongings in their arms, which wasn't much. After returning all their Pokémon to their pokéballs they stood and stared at each other in silence.

"What was that all about?" Ash said aloud to no one in particular.

"I don't know, but maybe the nurse Joy in the town we just came from could examine our Pokemon, to see if they're alright" Brock said, and for once, he wasn't smiling at the idea of returning to the Pokémon center to see one of his favorite women.


	2. Killjoy

**I do not own Pokémon, and to be honest, I 'm glad cause the real owners of Pokémon wouldn't let me do the stuff I have written here.

* * *

**

The explosion had made any tree or shrub that they had made into a significant marker disappear. They trudged in silence; they had initially started running but Dawn was lagging behind, so they had stopped to let her catch her breath.

The suffocating darkness of the night made it impossible to measure whether they were getting closer to the town or not. A cloud of paranoia followed them with every step they took; the slightest rustle in the bushes caused their gazes to turn in unison in that direction. Ash gingerly carried Pikachu with both arms, relieved to see him breathing gently.

No one bothered questioning the strange event that had just occurred, each of them knew just as much as the other in terms of that subject, which was next to nothing. All of them struggled to contain their emotions, knowing that becoming frantic would not help the situation or their Pokémon, the latter being their first priority.

Ash insisted on wearing his tattered and scorched cap, as did Brock with his vest. Dawn had lost more than the others in terms of accessories; her cap had been completely destroyed and her backpack had been equally shredded, as well as all the contents in it; leaving her literally with nothing to wear other than what she wore now.

* * *

After hours of walking though the woods they found what they had searched for. The town that stood before them was slightly different in the state that they had left it in: it was completely decimated, looking as though it had been hit by a hurricane. Eerily enough, any sign of life from the town's dwellers was absent.

"What happened?" Dawn whispered as clutched her torn remains in her arms tighter and closer to her chest.

"I…don't know" Ash replied, looking for someone in the ruins of the once tranquil town.

"Maybe…" Brock seemed at a loss for words from seeing the destruction, but quickly recuperated. "Maybe the town's Pokémon went through the same thing we just did?" Brock suggested.

"Explain the houses," Ash pointed to the rows of homes across the Pokemon center. Several doors had been left ajar, upon closer inspection one could tell that they were forcibly opened.

Brock's visage became stone faced; he uttered not a single comment in rebuttal.

"It looks like someone raided the place," Ash and Brock nodded, Dawn's observation making the most sense. Immediately images of Team Rocket flared up in their minds, only to be quieted down. The devious trio had become synonymous with trouble and annoyance.

" But this_ can't be Team Rocket's doing. This isn't their style_?" Ash pondered.

"But then…who?" Ash whispered aloud, the question almost rhetorical. They began heading towards one of the houses, stopping at the welcome mat. Ash took a step towards the entrance.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Ash yelled, waiting for a reply that would never come. Ash started making his way inside, Dawn and Brock hissing his name in disapproval only to end up following him inside. They saw him standing in the middle of what appeared to be the living room.

Everything seemed crooked and battered, signs of struggle clearly evident. Proud Chinas that once adorned the wall now lay shattered across the hardwood floor and rug, Tables and chairs were turned over, but it seemed as though nothing of value was missing. Save the people that lived there.

Ash, Brock, and Dawn searched the houses, unable to find a single soul. Brock opened the fridge to find it flooding the room with light, Dawn turned on the faucet, hot water pouring onto her hands. Ash peered into the oven, a dinner meant for two still marinating in its juices. Brock was just about to open the door leading to a basement when he heard Dawn's voice call out.

"Guys, the Pokemon center's lights are still on…I think!"

As they began to head towards Pokémon center, the ominous, flickering lights from within beginning to perturb them.

A piece of glass shattered in the distance making the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end. They froze, waiting for a new sound to fill in the gap of silence. When nothing came, they continued. The trio reached the entrance, awaiting the automatic doors to open; but the doors refused to budge while the three of them stared back at their reflections in silence.

Brock walked over to the doors, his fingers prying in between the gaps down the middle, forcefully wrenching the doors apart. Ash looked over to Dawn, their eyes met, both nodding before heading into the building.

The interior was trashed, cushioned seats overturned, holes in the chairs bleeding out fluff. Potted plants were smashed across the ground; gashes crisscrossed the room, going hand in hand with scarlet smears. Wires hung lifelessly from the ceiling through tilted ceiling panels, some of them severed, blooming sparks every few seconds.

The three of them weaved back and forth through the downpour of sparks as they made their way to the medical counter. "I'll see if I can get the machine working" Brock said, sliding over the counter to the medical bay of the Pokémon center, he visibly tensed as his feet touched the ground.

"Brock? What's wrong?" Ash said, walking around the counter, standing at his side and seeing what he saw tensing up as well.

"Guys, what's wrong? You're scaring me" Dawn watched from afar, waddling closer to them once they didn't answer her.

"Dawn, wait. Don't come any closer, you won't like what you see" Ash warned, breaking contact with Dawn to continue looking at what he and Brock stared at. Dawn's curiosity overwhelmed her, slowly inching towards them. Ash and Brock could hear Dawn's sharp inhale, knew her hand absentmindedly coming to cover her mouth, her other hand gripping her other arm and digging her nails into her skin.

At the far end of the room was a nurse Joy, her body leaning against the wall. Her hair was a mess, hanging down to her shoulders and her hat was missing. The wall she leaned against splattered with blood, the white from her outfit now stained red as well. Her eyes were still open and unblinking; as for her breathing: nonexistent.

Brock slowly trudged towards her as if in a trance, seeing one of the women he constantly idolized dead before him. His breathing became ragged and shallow with every trembling step he made closer to her, every foot revealing an elaborate detail that wasn't there before the step.

He reached her, bent down and stared at the whites of her eyes. Brock raised his hand over to her face, doing the courtesy of the dead and for himself of closing her eyelids. The edge of his hand had barely reached her skin when she gasped for air and shuddered violently, her eyes now sown shut. Ash reacted quickly, slapping his hand across Dawn's mouth and muffling her scream.

"Hey, it's okay now. We're here to help, but what t happened here?" Brock softly whispered, smoothing his hands onto her shoulders to reassure her.

"Th-they attacked, b-burst through doors, flashing lights, everyone was sleeping…and the screams."

"Who did this? Team Rocket? Who? We're Pokémon tra-"

She immediately cowered at the word; attempting to turn her wounded body to a corner of the room, make herself small and insignificant. She pretended to be dead but Brock held her wrist, her own heartbeat betraying her. "Was it trainers who did this?" Brock asked, shaking her gently, his fingers turning her chin towards him, her quivering eyes staring back.

"No it was the wild Pokémon, the Luxrays, Luxios, and Shinxs. They came and attacked everyone. They took them away. They took everyone away."

The three of them froze, letting it sink in at first, but still unable to comprehend it.

"I-it was the electric Pokémon, electric, Pokémon, Pokémon, …poke…mo-" Her eyes suddenly lost the sparkle of life. Brock noticeably shuddered; gradually removing his hand from her wrist, now placing it over his eyes, tears streaming down the gaps of the flesh-laden barricade. Ash looked away and lowered his cap over his eyes, removing his hand from Dawn's mouth.

Dawn started to wring Ash's shirt in her white-knuckled hands. Brock shuddered, his gasps shallow at first but then unexpectedly ceasing in a second. He wiped the tears from his eyes and went over to pick her up; he held her in his arms, like a husband would do to his bride.

"I'm gonna give her a proper burial" Brock muttered, exiting the building swiftly but calmly. Brock had made it halfway across the dirt road when he stopped suddenly and froze. Ash stared at him, noticing that he no longer moved or made any attempt to look back at him. Ash's interest grew, his legs slowly making their way towards the entrance of the building.

Brock made the subtlest gesture to tell Ash to stay away but they remained unnoticed. Walls from the entrance had blocked Ash's field of view no longer as he exited; he flinched immediately at the sight. Dawn had nuzzled into Ash's arm, to clear the nausea before looking up to see what they all stared at.

Standing before Brock were three Shinx, four Luxio, and one large Luxray, growling menacingly, daring anyone to cross them. They slowly began to surround Brock, leaving him cornered. Brock was frozen by fear with the exception of his legs that refused to cease trembling at the sight of the blood-drenched fangs. In unison the pack began to buzz, currents of electricity began to surround them as they approached nearer.

Ash could no longer stand by and watch, his voice projecting across the entire town, "HEY, GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Their attentions suddenly turned in unison towards Ash and Dawn. Ash chuckled nervously as Dawn squeezed his arm tighter and whimpered softly, "you idiot, what did you do that for." Ash himself didn't know why he did it, if anything it seemed kind of dumb to him now.

Maybe it was because some of them preferred fresh and living meat; maybe they wanted the excitement of the chase and the hunt rather than eating two morsels that were cornered and already dead. Half the Luxio and all of the Shinx left their ranks to chase Dawn and Ash. Luxray roared in disapproval at the inexperience of the rashness of the young ones, but his bark was left unheard.

Brock burst running with a speed the hunters had not encountered with their victims. One of the Luxio became excited, launching an electric attack to the Luxray's dismay. Brock bent his legs, and barely dodged a lightning bolt that flew above his head and set fire to one of the houses.

Ash and Dawn were already running, the Luxio's electric attack prompting the others to do the same. A lightning bolt missed Dawn's head by centimeters as Ash yanked her with him, his free arm carrying Pikachu. The both of them running towards the house that Brock was heading to, the pack of electric cats at their heels.

One of the Shinx pounced at Dawn; its claws bared and prepared to sink into Dawn's calf. Ash took notice and stopped briefly, his leg shooting out and slamming into the Shinx's face as it swiped at Dawn.

One claw managed to make a deep cut on Dawn's leg, drawing blood instantly and making her stumble. Her face grew pale as she stared down at her leg, seeing the deep cut nearly reaching the muscle, the warmth of it seeping down her leg and into her sock, staining it.

"KEEP RUNNING!" Ash yelled, squeezing her hand tighter and tugging at her arm even harder. Adrenaline surged through her veins and numbed the pain, fighting against the mental image proving harder than fighting against the pain.

The night grew brighter as their eyes met the glow of the flames that danced along one house. They had run along the side of the once crescent moon formation that the Pokémon had cornered Brock with. Brock was at the door at one of the unburning houses.

He kicked the door down and turned in time to have another lighting bolt from Luxio strike him. The bolt hit nurse Joy's body, the shock transferred to Brock's body causing him to tremble painfully and drop her onto the ground as her body set aflame.

Ash quickly ran past him, grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him into the confines of the house they had opened up earlier. They ran past the dining room, glass shattered behind them as a few straw bolts missed the sides of the house. It grew noticeablely hotter inside as they ran down the basement stairs and shut the door behind them and locked it.

Dawn crawled over to a corner, taking Pikachu into her arms as she watched Brock and Ash pile furniture against the door. They both wheezed, barely holding themselves up. Ash slowly slid down the brick surface and sat while Brock held himself up and stood with both his hands against the wall.

They could hear the rumble of destruction above; a deafening roar of wood snapping and glass shattering told them that the house had collapsed on top of them. They seemed unfazed by this; they would deal with that later when they had caught their breath. Ash looked over at Dawn who cradled Pikachu in her arms, his eyes widening at her wound. "Whoa, lets get you fixed up" he said, struggling to barely stand and searching around the room with haste.

"What's wrong, is she okay?" Brock asked, maintaining his position towards the brick wall.

"She's been cut, there's a lot of blood, help me find something" Ash said.

Brock took a deep breath and tore himself from the wall to help search, giving up to let Ash do it and going over to check on Dawn himself. He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out some gauze tape, quickly wrapping it around her thigh.

"We have to keep pressure on this wound so that you stop bleeding, let's just hope that it isn't infected. Was it one of the Shinx of Luxio that cut you?" Brock asked and saw her nod in response. "Ash you find anything?" Brock asked as he tended to Dawn.

"Yeah…but I wish I hadn't" Ash said, making their attentions shift to him rapidly. The old couple that had waved goodbye to them lay propped up against the wall of the basement corner; they remained unmoving as Brock left Dawn to approach them. He took their wrists and held them for a while.

He drew back his hands, his head sunk softly muttering, "they're dead too, I don't know if it's from a heart attack since there's no wounds on them, but they've got no pulse."

Ash tried to find some sort of surface but his hands clutched the air futilely and he landed on his rear. This had been a bit much for him to take all at once; He didn't have any experience when it came to seeing so much death and blood. He slowly pushed himself away from the scene and against an opposing wall.

Brock found a blanket that was large enough to cover them, but nothing could be done to take away the sensation of sharing a room with the dead. Dawn began to cry softly, after a few minutes Ash went over to comfort her. Her tears subsided shortly and she remained quiet and apathetic to everything. Ash looked over at Brock who seemed to be brooding in a corner.

"Hey Brock, I could use some help here, we need to think of something, like how to get out of here, how to fight those things" Ash suggested, but Brock remained silent. "Hello? Earth to Brock, can ya hear me?" Ash grumbled.

Brock looked up, staring at Ash for a while before lowering his head again and saying, "not now Ash. Just…just let me get over her death."

"Who? Nurse Joy? Wha…I-I can't-" Ash was at a loss for words, his face had turned red with anger, he was so flustered his sentences weren't cohesive at first. "Y-you've gotta be freaking kidding me, I-I mean I'm sad that she's dead, I'm sad that this old couple's dead too, but we have to get over it. We need to find a way out of here and I can't do it without you, so forget about her, we barely knew her anyways, I've understood what your obsession is with her but THERE'S HUNDREDS OF THEM AND THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME" Ash screamed, the room going silent except for his panting.

"Besides, you always flirt with any cute girl that you see, what's the difference if one of them died?"

"You just don't understand" Brock said calmly, not even attempting to raise his head and make eye contact.

Ash was enraged, storming over to where Brock stood, leaving Dawn shaken from the sudden dash. Brock remained unresponsive as Ash pulled at him by his collar and yelled at him.

"Snap out of it!" Ash yelled, his fist swung at Brock's face but never made it. Brock reacted quickly, slamming his knee into Ash's gut, forcibly bending him over in pain. Ash's head lifted up shakily, scowling at Brock as he met his gaze.

He lunged forward, swinging his fists in every direction but each a clear miss. Brock grabbed Ash by the throat, shoving him into the brick wall and holding him up with one arm. Ash struggled, his face turning purple as his feet kicked futilely and dangled from the floor.

"STOP IT!" Dawn pleaded from the corner of the room; her eyes welled up with tears as she clutched her leg. She had not attempted to get up due to her leg wound even though it had stopped bleeding. "Please don't fight, this isn't helping." Dawn said staring back at the both of them.

Brock lowered Ash back to the ground and released his hand from Ash's throat. Ash quickly moved away and turned from Brock but stopped. He stood there for a moment before turning slowly to meet Brock's gaze and mumble, "I'm sorry."

"_Why am I so angry and frustrated? This isn't like me, I've never fought with Brock like that before_."

Brock reverted back to his spot on the wall while Ash went over to Dawn's side seeing if Pikachu had awoken yet. Pikachu's pulse was regular, it wasn't faint and Pikachu didn't seem to be in a coma but more like a deep sleep that no amount of noise or movement would wake Pikachu from until it was ready. Ash stared at the wall, it wasn't his first time dealing with a Luxray, capable of seeing past walls.

_"It's probably out there, staring at us right now, it knows that we're alive. If it's so smart, then it already knows and has already probably made a plan in case we try to escape_."

Brock left his post on the wall and began inspecting every nook and crevice of the basement.

"We'll have to make our way up through where we came" Brock's forehead forming creases.

"We need to have a plan to get out of here quickly," Ash refuted. Brock was quiet for a few minutes, thinking deeply in silence that Ash understood and left him uninterrupted.

"There's…a teleportation device in the Pokémon center, every Pokémon center has one because it makes transferring pokeballs from center to center easier. We can't place ourselves into pokeballs since they only receive Pokémon DNA and it's too risky to tamper with them. The power's out inside the Pokémon center, but if we can overload it with electricity from Pikachu, then we can make it transport us to another Pokémon center where the situation is hopefully better_" _Brock suggested.

"Has that every been done before?" Ash replied bitingly.

"...no..." Brock muttered.

"Why not?" Dawn inquired innocently.

"Teleportation technology can be unstable. Sending something by teleportation doesn't always mean it'll come back in one piece. It's easier to send something small and simple, like a Pokeball, takes less energy. It's used a lot in Saffron, but it isn't safe enough for humans to where they can widely distribute it throughout the regions. The further it is to teleport, the more unstable it is" Brock informed them.

"So it's die instantly or die slowly," Ash bluntly commented.

"Pretty much" Brock replied, defeated. "We can't outrun them, but at least we can try and teleport ourselves. It's better than doing nothing. It's better than starving down here and getting mauled up there. I know it's crazy, but..." Brock didn't know what else to say or how to convince them. He could barely convince himself that this would work.

"-But it's just crazy enough to work" Ash concluded, the fire in his eyes burning again. "There's the matter with whatever's up there. There's a chance that they'll be inside the Pokemon center, waiting for us. From the way the Luxray made all of the others corner you, I guess it lives up to its name as the smartest large cat Pokémon. If anything, it probably has someone guarding our exit out of here. We need to distract them somehow. I think I know a way…but you're not gonna like the idea."

* * *

Two Luxio were guarding the ashen remains of the house that they had burned down. In their spare time they had proceeded to burn down most of the other houses for fun, despite the disapproval of their pack leader Luxray, telling them that burning down all the houses would give them less cover to hide behind if more humans came.

Luxray had told them that the humans were still alive beneath the rubble, wherever they had hidden. It had been a few hours and dawn was beginning to peek through the trees as the strolled casually about the wreckage.

They had been ordered to start digging through the ruins of the house to uncover and corner the humans, but listening to the alpha male of the group didn't seem to be on their agenda.

The majority of them resented Luxray. They hadn't bothered to dig as they were ordered to, preferring to listen to Luxray's other thought that the humans could not stay down their forever as they would run out of air or starve to death.

Luxray's pompous attitude began to annoy the pack; his sudden ascension to leadership did not go unnoticed. He began commanding them what to do; defending his role as leader by reminding them he was smarter and stronger. Everything was to go according to plan; any deviation meant less food for them.

Luxray had ordered them to mark their targets before they attacked, to strike as quickly and quietly as possible. He had ordered them to only use Scary Face to slow them down and Thunder Fang to immobilize. Once they had done so, they were to drag the bodies back into the forest where they would be divided up equally.

"_And by equally you mean you get the biggest share for just coming up with the plan, not even really doing anything_" the Luxio glowered.

Luxray had wanted to create less of a ruckus for the sole reason of giving the illusion that the town could still provide safe passage to the next. Humans would travel through here, they would not have to hunt as hard for their meals now, and their food would come to them.

By burning down the houses his plan had been ruined, the Luxio responsible were not allowed a share in the morsel they had gotten and were sent to guard the mound of rubble where the humans had escaped under. Luxray and the others were still by the Pokémon center, waiting for another chance at getting new prey.

Suddenly, a rustle was heard from the center of the broken wood mound they surrounded. They immediately circled the area of movement and held their position, ready for their new meal.

They tensed, the hairs on the body standing on end, an electrical current surrounding their bodies, humming to life as a figure crawled from the wooden debris. It was a wrinkled human hand, rapidly leaping from the hole, flying three feet away from the Pokémon center.

The body had yet to touch the ground when two lightning bolts struck the body, it burst into flames as it hit the ground. Lights from the fire reflected and danced off their eyes as they watched the spectacle before them. They would wait until they could smell the meat cook to the temperature they liked. Both of them agreed that it would better for them if they neglected to alert the others of their catch.

More figures rose from the burnt wood rubble, catching their attention. The Luxio turned; the previous humans and a new addition to the group ran towards the Pokémon center. Both of them turned back to their meal, caring not if the humans escaped them or not, they would be captured later. Why should they capture a moving morsel if one was prepared before them; the human fools were already headed towards the area where the others were hiding.

* * *

Brock had opposed the idea immediately, spending another couple of hours debating over a better plan until he surrendered. They spent the next several hours removing the debris from their path as quietly as they could. Pikachu had yet to wake up as Ash and Brock picked up one of the corpses.

With every ounce of strength, they threw the body upwards through the ruin hoping to use it as a distraction. After a few minutes of waiting, they went back, Brock picking up the other corpse and Ash picking up Dawn who held Pikachu. As they exited their scorched burrow, Brock was able to pull both Ash and Dawn up at the same time. As they ran towards the Pokémon center, Brock's eyes stumbled upon something; Ash on the other hand was unfazed and kept running.

Brock watched as Ash hopped over a dismantled skeleton, every ounce of meat and skin gone, the black dried blood the only grave marker given. The clothes had been torn so much it was indistinguishable, but each knew whose bones they belonged to, the spot Nurse Joy had been dropped was etched into their minds.

Brock swallowed hard, holding back the nausea as he ran. Darting through the automatic doors and weaving through the wreckage, they reached the spot where they saw the dying Joy.

"The room behind the counter is the transporting room," Brock said as he walked slowly towards it. Several shadows blurred along the walls catching their attention instantly. Luxray and the lower evolutions plunged from the ceiling and landed on the counter in front of them. There seemed to be no end to the choir of growls and snarls surrounding them.

Luxray's body began to glow as the electrical current traveled along his fur. Brock immediately ducked, the bolt of lightning missing him by mere inches and striking the poster on the wall behind him. Ash ran and slid across the slippery bloodstained tile. Bolts flew past his and Dawn's head as they passed the side of the counter. Luxray turned towards them while his minions' attentions were on Brock who was sprawled on the floor.

It took everything that Brock could muster to not puke from the smell of the old woman's body; not only did she reek with the smell of old but the fact that she had begun fester with the smell of death. Brock noticed Luxray's shift in attention; he quickly reacted and charged at Luxray. Luxray continued to ignore Brock's attack; in response, the others fired their attacks from the side of the room.

Brock's body quickly turned, putting the plan into action and using the old woman's body as a shield. Each bolt impaled her from the front as Brock let go and continued his tackle. Seeing as the others had failed, Luxray turned his attention to Brock, annoyed at the persistence of his prey.

Shimmering waves of heat had been steaming off of his body and rising into the sky as he had stared at Ash and poised to attack. The rising heat was fast, reaching the clouds quickly and turning them dark. Ash struggled to get up and move while still carrying Dawn, getting behind Luxray and entering the room with the teleportation device. Brock continued to sprint towards Luxray, leaping over the counter, sliding and rolling into the next room where Ash and Dawn were.

Luxray had been wearing a toothy smile, thinking that the foolish human would have fallen in the trap due to his rash actions, only to have his eyes widened at the surprise that it wasn't his attention at all, watching Ash close and lock the door to the Pokémon teleporter.

A large lightning bolt plummeted from the blacked clouds directly above Luxray that he had charged with heat. Ash had moved far away enough from the door when the electrical currents bombarded across its surface as well as the floor. The wave of electricity spread across the room, scorching all the surfaces it touched.

Luxray turned to see what had happened to his subordinates, shocked and angry to see them feasting on the elderly woman they had recently roasted. His barked orders fell on deaf ears, the sound impaired by their gluttonous hunger. He turned his back on them; he didn't need them to do this, the meat would all be for him. His mouth opened wide, his teeth glistened as he bared them at the wall.

Brock reacted quickly, heading straight for a communication device that they had to contact the areas that they were transferring to. The computer had an internal battery in case the Pokémon center and the backup generators lost power. A map of Sinnoh blinked onto the screen, each town highlighted on the map a bright red dot. Dawn had been sitting against the side of a wall, holding Pikachu, watching Brock and Ash hurrying around while she sat there, she felt useless.

Ash ran over to her, holding Pikachu in his hands, talking to him gently to try and wake him up. For good measure he gave a few gentle shakes, when Pikachu was still unresponsive to his calls he began to shake and talk louder and harder. A loud crunch was heard across the room, a crack across the door snaked along its surface. It violently shook again, a dark glow leaking through the cracks of the door.

Luxray opened its mouth wide again, and rapidly snapped it close, a meter away, the aura of dark fangs glowed in their ajar state. As they crunched together, it grazed along the side of door, slowly weakening it. Some material within the door seemed to divert electricity and dampen the shock; the only other move in Luxray's arsenal was Crunch.

"I've got the coordinates. Theoretically, I just need a very large input of energy to get it to teleport us" Brock yelled from the computer.

"I know, I know, I'm trying" Ash replied, refusing to shake the living daylights out of his beloved Pokémon for fear of hurting him. The door splintered inwards, the jagged edges jutted towards them menacingly. Luxray decided that he had done enough damage to the door, hopping down from the counter and tackling the door head on.

The door shuddered on its hinges but remained intact; Brock, Ash, and Dawn all released a sigh of relief, but it was short lived as the door shook again. The steel bolts were beginning to bend, loosening from the hinges. Luxray stopped, seeing it as futile, stepped back; high pressure from the rapid closing of his jaw created a set of serrated teeth made of dark aura.

Now from a closer range, a large gaping wound punctured through the door, a cloud of splinters sprayed at Ash, Pikachu and Dawn. They shirked away from the blast, quickly looking back at the hole in the door, staring back at Luxray's golden eyes. Ash dragged Dawn to a corner behind the computer next to where Brock furiously typed.

Lances of electricity branched from the door, the range that it passed was limited as it reabsorbed into the door. Luxray snarled at the persistent obstacle, ramming his skull into it one last time. The door gave way, flying off the wall, the bolts pinging off the ceiling and skittering across the floor and rolling into some dark corner. Its surface slammed into the tile, Luxray stood on it and glared.

It was a stand off, the four of them frozen in each other's eyes. They were cornered; there were no escapes now, no way to get past Luxray and to the door. Volts of electricity jumped from hair to hair on Luxray's mane. Sparks danced from his pores, a rising heat wave filtering through the skylight in the ceiling. Clouds blackened again as the heat seeped through the broken ceiling tiles.

Ash recognized what Luxray was preparing to do, taking the moment to try and make the plan still work out. It had been initially decided that Pikachu would supply the massive, nearly overloading, surplus of power to the teleporter, they had thought Pikachu would have woken up by then. That was not the case now, but the plan could still work, but on a fool's luck, and on a risky gamble.

Brock and Dawn had scrunched into a corner behind the computer where they were ignored; Ash had taken shelter behind the transporting mechanism. Luxray began to scan the room when a pokedex bounced off his face. It snarled, finding Ash's arm still in the air from the throw and ducking behind one of the machines. Luxray sent a bolt of energy at the machine, the bolt dissipating and absorbed into the walls before it even got close. A stronger bolt was launched, only to be absorbed once more as Luxray was rewarded with another object bouncing off his head.

The air was scalding above Luxray now, placing all of his power into this attack. Ash's head slid into view, realizing that while Luxray used Thunder it could not move, before retreating behind cover and barely dodging a stray lightning bolt that would've melted his face, charring a spot on the wall.

Light that had once filtered through from the dawn dimmed and finally darkened from the blackening sky. Creatures from miles away turned their heads towards the ominous heavens directly above the Pokémon center.

Ash slowly began to back away from the inactive teleporter; the fear that he had held down as best he could rapidly overtook him. His legs shook, he tried to talk but couldn't help but stutter inaudibly. The black clouds above Luxray froze; branches of electricity all struck down from the cloud, converging into one single point and plummeting onto the Pokémon center.

A pillar of lightning poured over Luxray, enveloping its entire body; the sight of the tree made entirely out of lightning hypnotized Pokémon from far and wide. Luxray continued to stand there; his fur heavily saturated with thousands of volts of electricity and prepared to skewer the machine and the human behind it.

Silence flooded the room for an instant before evaporating completely as Luxray released his attack with all of his strength. Ash instinctively jumped backwards, his arms guarding his face from the blinding light. His body slammed against the wall, hard; sliding down to the floor with his arms still locked in position. The room was silent with the exception of Luxray's pants.

Warbling and beeping noises gradually grew from the teleporter and computer in unison. Brock reacted quickly, carrying Dawn and setting her down before the teleporter. Ash watched as Brock darted to him, forcefully yanking him off the wall, flinging him next to Dawn.

He threw himself at them as the beeps became more and more frequent to the point where they began to sound like a long drone. Luxray was too tired to move at this point, merely watching in disbelief that the object had not been destroyed by his thunder attack. He tried to move; his legs quivered for a second and gave up.

Luxray attempted to crawl towards his prey that was being bordered by a blue spotlight from the object he had failed to destroy. A few more inches and he too would fall within the sapphire circle. Brock had lunged himself next to Ash and Dawn at the last second when the teleporter's drone reached a loud, high pitched squeal, a flash converted the room to something similar to purgatory.

* * *

**Next, chapter 4: Not Far From The Tree**


	3. Not far from the tree

**August 17**

* * *

Nausea poured into Ash's body as he slammed into the hard linoleum floor. Ash slowly lifted himself up with Dawn and Brock following suit. Audible pops arose from his neck as he scanned the room, instinct quickly kicking in.

The room was well lit, machinery flashed and beeped all around them, and for a moment it was completely alien to him. The sound of footsteps made the raven-haired trainer quickly direct his attention to the source. A shadow loomed over him, blocking out the fluorescent lights from above. Ash's eyes hadn't adjusted to the darkness and for the moment he was blind.

"Ash?"

The voice immediately triggered something in the trainer and coordinator's mind, recognizing it instantly as Professor Rowan. Dawn instantly smiled, tears relief collecting in the corners of her eyes.

"_We're close to Twin Leaf Town_?" Ash thought as his eyes adjusted to the room's lights. "

"And Dawn as well, I see," Rowan said, extending a hand to the both of them. Dawn flinched as she stood, a detail not unnoticed by the weathered professor before quickly bringing her a chair.

"This is the first time that I've heard of humans being able to be teleported through a Pokémon teleporter that normally only teleports pokeballs. You will have to tell me how you achieved such a feat."

Rowan pulled up a chair for himself, as well as for Brock and Ash. As if on cue a small group of Rowan's assistants entered the room, standing at attention and waiting to receive orders.

"Contact this girl's mother, I believe her name is Johanna and resides in Twinleaf Town. As for you; go fetch a medical kit, this girl's leg is wounded, and also take these trainer's Pokémon to the medical bay."

One of the assistants went over to Ash, who reluctantly handed over Pikachu and his pokeballs.

Rowan pointed to his last assistant who had yet to be ordered to do anything. "Could you please fetch something to eat and drink for me and these trainers?" The assistant nodded and walked away briskly. Rowan watched as Ash, Dawn, and Brock handed their last pokeballs; noticing the subtle sadness in their demeanor as they watched their Pokémon carried away.

"Worry not, these are good people and will take care of your Pokémon very well; they prepare the starter Pokémon for trainers to start their journeys" Rowan assured them.

They each nodded, and picked up the cups of tea that were quickly placed before them on the table.

"Now, tell me what has happened to you all" Rowan asked.

Each of them shifted uncomfortably in their seats, knowing full well what they said would sound completely crazy.

"Well, where do we start" Brock began the telling, starting at the Pokémon center.

* * *

Professor Rowan nodded every few sentences, giving only grunts for them to decipher as to continue the telling. At the end, there was only silence; each of them sipped their tea nervously in unison while staring back at the professor. Rowan pondered for a minute, his fingers cradling his chin in deep thought.

"Well I must say, what you have told me sounds absolutely ludicrous. I'm utterly baffled that this could happen. Though I am convinced that what you are saying is true due to one bit of evidence that could be the key to uncovering your mystery as well as mine."

The professor got up from his seat and began walking towards a complicated network of machinery in the corner of the room. Ash and the others sat and watched from their seats as the professor walked across the room.

"The Pokémon here went into a tantrum until they lost consciousness. From what you have told me, it has affected every Pokémon, whether they have been captured or in the wild."

"So the Pokémon here were affected too," Ash asked, receiving a nod from Rowan. Ash began to look around the walls of the facility; there were no bloodstains, no broken glass, no scratches, no scorches or any form of struggle and fighting.

"You haven't been attacked yet?" Brock asked, Rowan shook his head and explained.

"Many towns decided that it is safer for trainers who are born within the town and are going to start their journeys, begin within an area where the Pokémon are the weakest. In order to do this, sometimes towns are built far away from areas where wild Pokémon live or make the area a place where Pokémon do not want to venture. This facility is quite far from the wild."

One of the assistants entered the room with a medical kit, two others also entered but with their hands empty.

"The girl's mother has been contacted and informed, she has offered to give housing to the girl's friends"

"These trainer's Pokémon have been placed in the infirmary with the other Pokémon of this facility."

Rowan nodded and dismissed them from the room while the other assistant tended to Dawn's wound. Dawn squeaked as the assistant picked her up, catching the attention of Brock and Ash. The assistant turned in the direction of the professor, "Sir, if it would be alright with you, it would be better if I conducted the treatment in the infirmary."

"It's quite alright with me, do you two object?" Rowan asked as he stared back at Ash and Brock. They silently shook their heads, Rowan nodded at his assistant who returned the gesture before briskly leaving the room. Dawn's worried gaze connected with Ash's eyes as the swinging double doors broke the stare that seemingly transcended the barriers of distance. Rowan's warm reassuring hand landed softly onto Ash shoulder, breaking the tension. Ash turned towards the professor and gave a weak smile knowing that she would be in safe hands.

* * *

After a few hours Dawn came out of the infirmary, her leg bandaged; Brock and Ash had been waiting on a bench near the door normally for trainers worried about their Pokémon. Their eyes brightened as she gave them a warm smile.

"The doctor said that I shouldn't put too much pressure on the leg. He said that the cut wasn't deep or infected, but that if I do anything too strenuous I can reopen the wound" Dawn explained.

"That's good at least" Brock replied.

"Finally some good news" Ash sighed contently as he leaned back against the cold wall.

"Would you like for us to provide you with a method of transportation to Dawn's mother?" Rowan asked as he walked towards them.

"Not until our Pokémon are okay," Ash replied, speaking for both Dawn and Brock who nodded along.

"Well then I have great news then, some of your Pokémon are regaining consciousness."

Each of their faces lit up at the news and began following Rowan to the infirmary. Ash's thoughts were running wild from the happiness; hopefully his best bud would be awake.

_"But, what if he turns out to be like the Luxray and Shinx back at the town, what if he doesn't remember me or something like that?"_

As Ash turned the corner a blur shot towards him, aimed at his throat and bridging the distance in seconds. Ash froze, falling backwards as the creature hit him and knocked the wind out of his lungs. Rowan's eyes widened at the scene, Dawn shrieked as Brock jumped back instinctively. Ash squirmed on the floor, unable to scream with no air for it to travel.

Once air returned, all Ash could do was laugh as Pikachu nuzzled and licked his throat mercilessly. Everyone couldn't help but give warm smiles as they helped up the hysterical teenager before them. He gave Pikachu a tight hug; the gesture causing the electric mouse to squeal in delight, small sparks bursting from its crimson cheeks. Ash flinched, immediately releasing Pikachu who hopped onto the floor and looked back on his trainer with concern. He laughed shakily to reassure them he was okay, his trembling legs told a different story.

"Don't worry, I'm f-fine" Ash said, his hands sliding down his body until he reached his legs and tried forcing them to stop. After a minute he began to stop; sweat trickled down his forehead as he panted slowly.

"That's interesting" Rowan commented Dawn and Brock reached over and placed their hands on his shoulders.

"Thanks guys, but I'm alright. What could be better than seeing one of my best friends healthy and happy?"

One of the assistants came to them, shocked to see that Pikachu had left the confines of the room.

"I terribly sorry about this sir, I looked away for a second and the Pokémon had disappeared" The assistant apologized.

"No harm done, how are the other Pokémon?"

"Some of them are recovering quite nicely while the others are still asleep but should be waking up soon, I will be giving each of them an FMRI scan."

Brock, Dawn, and Ash walked into the room as he began explaining, looking at their Pokémon as well as the others who occupied the beds. Half of them were awake and socializing, while the others were gently sleeping, oblivious to all the culminated voices of the others.

Brock walked over to the unconscious form of Croagunk; upon approaching, he began swinging his glowing fist around attempting to restrains his master in whatever dreams he was having. Brock couldn't help but give a curt smile as he dodge the flailing arm of his Pokémon. Piplup and the rest of Dawn's Pokémon had been asleep until a light caress woke him up.

"We were wondering if you could allow us the chance to scan your Pikachu for any abnormalities. Bear in mind that Pikachu would be completely unharmed and comfortable during this process which would be short" the assistant explained.

"It's not really up to me to decide; is it okay with you buddy?" Ash said, turning towards Pikachu sitting on the flesh-laden throne that was Ash's shoulder. Pikachu nodded, the assistant showing Ash the way to the room, Rowan, Brock, and Dawn following behind him.

Screens seemingly painted the walls and left no inch uncovered without some sort of technological equipment. There were a few desks with various assorted books and papers littered around them, some of them with coffee mug rings. In the center of the room was a conveyer belt that fed into a tube at the end of it.

"Please lay Pikachu on the conveyer belt" the assistant asked as he headed back to his desk and began furiously typing. Ash gently placed Pikachu on the belt and stepped away as the belt began to move. Pikachu laid back and began to enjoy the ride emitting a squeal since the vibrations against his back felt good.

Once Pikachu fully entered the tube the conveyer belt stopped. "Pikachu, can I ask you to remain still for the time being?"

The word pika echoed from the tube in response, to which they all enterpreted as a confirmation to continue. Ash and the others headed towards the screen, watching an outline of Pikachu's skull made from blobs of yellow, red, green, blue, pink, and indigo.

"Well that's odd," The assistant commented and began typing furiously again.

"What's odd?" Dawn asked as the assistant who continued to type and hadn't broken contact with the screen.

"There's a portion of the brain that controls the attacks of the Pokémon, holding the genetic makeup of the attacks and limiting what the Pokémon should learn and how strong they should be. Half of that segment seems to be not functioning, there seems to be no signals emitting from that area."

"And that means?" Ash inquired.

"There can only be two options of what can happen now in my opinion."

The four of them leaned in and waited on the next word until Rowan mumbled, "go on."

"Pikachu can either no longer have any attacks, or the attacks can be immensely stronger," the assistant concluded.

"Then it's definitely the latter" Brock announced, "If anything, the attacks seem more…how should I put this?"

"Real?" Dawn interjected, showing off her leg to all within the room. It made sense to Ash now, his brain filling in the pieces.

Back home, when his mother cooked and accidentally get cut, she would bleed. There were times when he saw Team Rocket get attacked by a Pokémon using a Slash attack, only their clothes would be cut, if anything, the blades were incapable of making an incision on their skin and merely bruising or launching them into a direction.

The same went for other attacks like Flamethrower and Thunderbolt. Normal fires could burn, and electric currents could kill, but never before had a Pokemon's attacks reached that kind of brutal reality. Everyone seemed to have come to their own conclusion at the same time, each of them having the same idea.

"That would explain why Ash reacted to Pikachu's shock in a way that he would have felt had he had encountered real electricity" Brock input.

"So, that is to say, if we were to combine these facts, something eliminated the dampener in all Pokémon and made their attacks realistic and lethal. From what you have told me, that would explain the Pokémon's sudden savage behavior. Because they know that their attacks are now lethal, they have more confidence and will attack more humans. What we don't know is what could have caused this, and more importantly, why?" Rowan began to analyze aloud.

"Ash, Dawn, Brock; would you mind if we also gave each of your Pokémon a scan to see if they were all affected and if they're all right" Rowan asked.

Each of them nodded, knowing it was for the best and if meant it would help their Pokémon, they themselves would do everything within their power to help.

* * *

"Mom? Mom, don't worry, really, it's no biggie. They were just checking our Pokémon to see if they were okay. They're fine mom, we just got a little held back so we'll be staring here for the night and we'll be going to home first thing in the morning…my leg is fine, don't worry about it okay" Dawn said reassuringly to her mother.

Ash couldn't help but smile and shake his head, "whenever she says that it only makes her mother worry even more." Pikachu nodded before leaping off Ash's shoulder and into the bed behind him. The raven-haired youth wasn't far behind, yawning from the fatigue of spending an entire twenty-four hours awake.

"It's nice to have a bed again," Ash said to no one in particular as he stared at the ceiling. It wasn't like sleeping in a bed had become a rarity, but he did sleep on the ground more than he did in an actual bed, so he treasured it each time he could. Rowan entered the room, watching Ash stretch on top of the sheets.

"I hope that these accommodations are to your liking" Rowan inquired, receiving a pika and a nod from Ash. "Very well then, I shall leave you be, you all must be very tired from being awake for more than a day." He left the room, leaving the hallway now clear for Dawn to enter.

"How's your mom?" Ash asked without looking at her but at the ceiling instead.

"Aside from being stressed and worried even though I tell her not to, she's okay."

"You do know every time you tell her not to worry it just worries her more" Ash laughed, receiving a pout from Dawn and proceeded to stick her tongue out at him. As Ash's laughter subsided he turned towards her, "where's Brock?"

"He's probably checking the facility for any assistants who might be girls. You won't have to worry, Croagunk's with him."

"That's good," Ash yawned as he laid down, "he-" Ash never finished the sentence as his body gave up the struggle of remaining awake.

"Ash? Ash! Are you alri-" Dawn began to go over and shake him when she heard a loud snore. She gently retreated and sat softly onto her bed, trying to make the least amount of creaks as she could. She couldn't help but sit back and admire him from a distance. He was good friend, always energetic and smart when he needed to be, not to mention he was persistent until he reached his goal.

"How's your leg?" Dawn turned to see Brock at the door, his voice having startled her.

"It's already feeling better" she smiled as she laid her hand on her leg where the bandage was.

"You should follow his example and get to sleep, your leg will heal faster that way" Brock said as he pointed towards Ash whose body slowly rose and fell with each snore. Brock began to tuck himself in the bed above Ash's. Dawn raised her leg gingerly onto the bed and drew the covers up to her nose before darkness claimed her.

* * *

Their alarm clock that morning had been Ash's stomach, waking everyone from the foundations of their sleep. Ash chuckled in embarrassment all the way till they made their way to the breakfast table while Brock began making something. Behind them was the legion of their Pokémon, now all conscience and mingling with each other concerning the event that happened before them passed out.

Rowan approached them in the middle of their breakfast and stopped before them with his arms crossed behind his back.

"I've arranged for officer Jenny to you to take you to Twin Leaf."

"Oh thank the heavens above for such a beautiful Venus from the sanctuary of angels to grace us with her presence upon her golden chariot. I feel as though I could-"

Brock never finished his sentence as Croagunk jabbed him in the side, muffling his own name as he continued to munch on the Pokémon food.

"Thanks Croagunk" Ash said, Croagunk replied with a thumbs up and left his paralyzed master with his face buried in his plate. This had taken Professor Rowan aback at first, but seeing as Ash and Dawn reacted so nonchalant towards it he let the matter go.

"They seem to be having their own mountain of troubles over there and will be also transporting their Pokémon here to heal as the Pokémon center is full enough as it is. She'll be arriving in a few hours" Rowan finished as he began to exit the room.

"Wait, professor! Did you have any sort of problems with the Pokémon yesterday like us?" Dawn asked.

"They did stir quiet a ruckus, but no extensive damage was done, and it was nothing that a little bit of cleaning couldn't fix. If you're referring to the escapade that you went through the other night; then no. None of the Pokémon attempted to hurt us directly."

Dawn and Ash nodded back in response as Rowan left and continued eating their breakfast, Brock silently began to weep upon his eggs, his head still buried.

"There there Brock" Dawn comforted, receiving a muffle that she could only decipher as "no one knows my pain."

* * *

Ash, Dawn, Pikachu, and Brock waited promptly with professor Rowan at the entrance to the complex. In the distance they watched as a speck drove down the road with a light roar, small clouds of dust billowing in its wake. The car slowed down to a stop and parked directly before them. Officer Jenny exited the vehicle, only to watch Brock lunge at her. A few inches short from making contact, Croagunk plunged from the sky and slammed his lavender glowing fists into Brock's spine, smashing him into the ground, a small crater as his grave.

"_Even though the attacks are more realistic I guess some don't cause as much damage as others. It's good to see that some things never change though_," Ash thought.

"The pokeballs are in the trunk," Officer Jenny said as she went over to professor Rowan. "And thanks again, we're at wits end here, I don't know how we can repay you."

"If you could just get these kids to Twin Leaf Town safely, then that will be more than sufficient."

"Consider it done" she replied head back to the car, opening the trunk and entering the vehicle once more. Rowan's assistants began to take the pokeballs back into the building as Brock began to crawl towards the passenger seat. His hand shakily reached for the handle but Croagunk's shadow obstructed the way and loomed over Brock.

Croagunk opened the door to the seat behind the passenger seat, Brock's hand and head sunk back into the ground in defeat. Once Croagunk became satisfied that his master's spirit was broken, he returned inside of his pokeball, all the while using his master as a doormat.

The former gym leader dragged himself into the seat behind Dawn, leaving Ash to take the passenger seat, Pikachu nestling onto his lap. They fastened their seatbelts when the trunk had emptied and shut. The engine hummed to life, their final farewells in the form of their waving arms through the open windows.

Everyone in the car was silent as they began to approach the forest between them and Twinleaf Town. Dawn couldn't help but reminisce about her first days as a trainer. This was where she and Piplup had first fought together and bonded, and with the memory came the horrified realization of the other denizens that resided within the forest.


	4. Tangled webs we weave

**August 18**

* * *

"Would you like me to go back to Professor Rowan?" She asked, watching as their eyes scanned every corner of the woods through the windows, leaving no opening unwatched and each taking effective intervals of observing each area. They remained silent for the next half hour; things had been going smoothly as they passed the midpoint of the forest. Some of the color began to return to their faces, their breathing had resumed normalcy, and they began to ease up as they sunk back into their seats. The car stopped abruptly, hurling everyone forwards, only to be saved by their seatbelts, Pikachu using Ash's arms like one. Each of them sharply reversed into their seats, slamming into the cushion. The innards of the car were silent with the exception of their rapidly beating hearts. "We must have run into a ditch or something, strange that I didn't see it" Officer Jenny said as she undid her seatbelt and left the car. "You guys stay here inside while I check out the problem."

Each of them nodded, hoping the least of their worries would come true. The damage to the car wasn't extensive, and that was the odd part. There were no scratches, no dents, nothing. She crouched to the level of the wheels and was shocked to see there wasn't any indent in the earth deep enough to stop the car. A breeze brushed by her emerald hair, casting her cap into the air and keeping it there. She turned to retrieve it, her hand halfway there when she stopped before her motionless floating hat. Ash watched through the windshield and opened the car door.

"How are you doing that?" Ash asked as his eyes landed on the floating hat.

"I don't…know," she said, reaching towards her hat and trying to pluck it from the air.

"It won't budge?" she said incredulously, Brock left the confines of the car, leaving Dawn to watch through the windows.

"Here let me try" Ash said as he walked over, grabbing the hat by both hands. No matter how much Ash strained, the hat refused to move a centimeter.

Ash's attempts ceased as he felt Brock's hand on his shoulder, pulling him out of the way.

"This…is a man's job" Brock said, gazing off into officer Jenny's direction with a sparkling smile. Brock gripped the hat tightly, and tugging it viciously until the point where he instinctively jumped up and began pushing against the invisible surface. They each backed away from the floating Brock before them. Brock hadn't instinctively noticed at first while everyone began to gawk at the sight.

"Brock?" Ash asked.

"What…is…it?" He said through his strained grunts with every pull.

"You're floating" Ash said as calmly as he possibly could.

"I'm what?" his tug of war with the air had stopped momentarily to asses what Ash had said. Brock looked down, yelling in surprise and letting go of the hat, only to fall to the floor minus his shoes. Officer Jenny and Ash helped Brock up, who continued to have his sights glued to the hypnotizing sight of his floating shoes.

"There's something here" Ash said, his hands outstretched and his palms touching next to Brock's shoes and Jenny's hat. Ash froze, surprised to feel resistance from the air as he pushed against it. As he applied more pressure he realized it couldn't be air, something solid pressed against his hand. It was a string; not one string but many that overlapped each other and weaved together. When he pulled away his glove came off, floating along with the others. "_A bunch of strings that criss crossed each other and that when touched they are really sticky; like a web_!"

"It's a web!" Ash cried out, the others staring at him quizzically at first. Ash watched as their eyes light up, the answer now clear to them.

"Well great, now we know what it is, but how do we get through it?" Jenny projected.

"This web looks pretty tough, I mean, when I was on it, it felt like I was on steel wires, it might not be that easy to break" Brock added.

Ash thought for a moment and pulled out a pokeball, pressing the center button and releasing Chimchar.

"Chimchar, do you think that you can blow your fire over there?" Ash motioned towards the invisible web. The fire monkey wasn't aware that there were any webs, puzzled why his master wanted him to spontaneously blow fire. Regardless, he wouldn't disappoint his master and did as he was told. A river a flame surged from the monkey's mouth, igniting the webs. The flame traveled along the strands, making the web before them visible. They watched and waited before the giant glowing brand before them. Slowly, but surely, the webs began to erode and succumb to the fires that assaulted it. Piplup hopped out of the car and doused what was left of the flames so that the rest of the forest, personal items, and the car hood didn't burn.

Officer Jenny nodded in approval towards Ash, "I'll have to tell everyone back at HQ to do this in case this scenario happens again." Ash nodded and smiled as he returned Chimchar to his pokeball. The car revved to life again before driving over the mound of smoldering webs. As the car drove off, a single strand of web from the burnt silken ruins attached to one of the tires.

* * *

Dawn peered though the windshield, seeing her house lit up in the distance. It was beginning to get dark as the tires screeched to halt over the gravel. Dawn's mother rushed out of the house in a nightgown. The door behind Ash flew open as Dawn left the car to her mom and proceeded to hop into her mother's embrace. Those within the car could suppress a smile at the sight before them before leaving. Officer jenny revved the vehicle back up again, Dawn's mother walking towards the driver window.

"Thank you for taking care of my daughter" Johanna said, the two still deep into their embrace.

"It wasn't a problem, have a good night" the officer smiled and turned the car, and within a minute she was already driving back into the woods.

"It's good to see you Ash, Brock. Dawn talks about you all the time." Brock and Ash greeted her accordingly. They trudged back silently, the night making the single strand that had traversed this journey with them invisible. The wind blew it into the air, the end of it attaching to the side of Dawn's house.

* * *

Ash woke up to the sound of his stomach again. The exhaustion had really gotten to him, making him wake up later than usual and missing out on the early breakfasts that he was accustomed to. Hands belonging to the scent of breakfast stroked his nose as he lied there in bed. Ash got up, scanning himself to see if he was presentable before he gathered his personal effects and headed for the door. On the bed, Pikachu's ear twitched, sensing the absence of its companion and leaped onto its rightful place at Ash's shoulder. Brock was already down stairs in an apron helping Johanna with breakfast, taking the occasional break to jot down some recipes and notes that he had just recently acquired.

"Did you sleep well in the guest room, Ash?" Johanna asked as she turned towards him, a wooden spoon in her hand.

"Yeah, I kinda overslept. How'd you sleep Brock?"

"Don't worry Ash, I'm used to sleeping on couches ever since I was with…I…vy!"

Brock fell to the floor, a dark aura looming over his head as he rocked himself in the fetal position.

"Will he be okay?" Johanna shirked away in shock but eventually reeled in closer with concern.

"Don't mind him, it's just a phase that he goes through" Ash assured and sat at the table as if nothing had happened. As he settled into his chair he looked around, noticing that someone wasn't with them.

"Where's Dawn?" Ash asked, gazing around the empty seats.

"She's upstairs in her room, I thought it easier for her to eat breakfast in bed" Johanna explained as she gazed towards the stairs. "Would you be a dear and bring this up to her?" Johanna held out a tray with breakfast.

"No problem." Ash accepted the tray, balancing the glass of juice as his strode up to Dawn's room. He stopped at the closed door, steadily balancing the tray while his other hand knocked.

"Come on in" Dawn beckoned from beyond the door; Ash turned the knob and entered in response. It was the first time that Ash had been in Dawn's room, he couldn't help but look around this new setting.

"Is that for me?" Dawn asked, breaking Ash out of his concentration of her room. She had been waiting patiently in her bed while he stared.

"Huh? Oh! Right. Yeah, sorry bout that. Your mom just wanted me to bring this up to you."

"Thanks."

"How are you feeling?" Ash asked earnestly.

"I'm feeling better, it's nice to sleep in my own bed for once"

"That's good, so I'm guessing that you're happy to be home, right?"

"Yeah, but it's only temporary. Until my leg heals, we can start our journey to your hometown."

The other night before they had gone to sleep, Ash and Brock had been discussing what to do from Dawn's house. Each were worried about their families and hometowns, the news they heard probably hadn't reached their families. Family was a top priority; anything else could be postponed, like being a Pokémon champion or breeder. They would have to leave Sinnoh by boat and go back to see that their families were safe. Dawn must've overhead their conversation, despite the fact that they had whispered it to each other.

"Dawn, about the next journey. Me and Brock were talking about it, and we thought it would be best if you stayed here with your mom, where it's safe."

Dawn's eyes widened with shock, the fork in her now lifeless hand fell and clattered onto her plate.

"You're leaving me behind?"

Ash looked away momentarily, he wished it were Brock who had to break this to her.

"We can't afford to take you with us" Ash said, trying desperately to look into her shimmering eyes and tell her.

"My mom can pay for the ticket, she has a bunch of m-" She began to ramble.

"It's not only about the money. Not only can we only pay for two tickets, but also you're wounded and you'd...probably slow us down."

"I can walk fine, look" She attempted to get up, completely forgetting that her tray was in front of her. Ash went over and eased her back down into her bed, her food close to spilling over. He knew it wouldn't be easy to break it to her, but he wished Brock were at least next to him for support. All her grief seemed to be directed at him alone. Brock was downstairs saying the same thing to Johanna; her reaction was probably better than her daughter's.

"It's too dangerous for you, we don't want you to get hurt any more than you already are."

"Can't you wait for me?"

"Every second we wait, our families could be in danger, you're safe here" Ash sighed. He began making his way towards the door, "I'm sorry Dawn, once we know that they're okay, I promise. We'll come back for you. Just get better for us until then."

* * *

Ash descended the stairs slowly, a heavy cloud hung over him. Brock met him at the bottom.

"How'd she take it?" Brock asked, receiving a solemn sigh as a reply.

"That bad?" Brock assessed, with Ash only to confirm by a head nod.

"I think she hates me" Ash replied, sinking into his chair and staring at his breakfast.

"She doesn't hate you. She's just upset; this is her first time having us leave like this. Not all trainers are lucky enough to travel in groups like us."

Ash nodded in acknowledgment, thinking back how screwed he would've been in the beginning had he never gotten the support from Brock and Misty.

"It doesn't matter, we only have enough money for the two of us. We can't ask her mother to lend us money either."

"If it's for her daughter she might."

"Do you really think that she'd be safer with us?" Ash countered.

"I guess you have a point, lets go buy the tickets for the next cruise then."

Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder as they exited the house, the door clicking behind them as it closed.

* * *

Dawn picked at her food, not that it didn't taste good; she had lost her appetite. Every time she forced a piece into her mouth it tasted like ash.

"_Ash?"_ the thought lingered in her mind for a moment before she grabbed her pillow and screamed into it. The fabric had absorbed most of the yell, but could do nothing to console the inner tantrum within her.

"_Those jerks, they don't even consider my feelings. I hate them I hate…them? No I don't, no matter how much I say it, I can't really hate them. I know they're doing this for my safety and me. I just feel so betrayed, and I just wish there was another way_."

"Dawn, how are you feeling? Can I come in?"

Dawn quickly made herself look presentable before her mother entered, doing her best not to look like she had cried her eyes out.

"Come in" Dawn replied; her voice saturated with so much sweetness it made her sick. Johanna entered, practically gliding across the floor to her daughter's side.

"You've barely eaten anything! Are you not feeling well? Does it not taste good?"

"No mom, it tastes fine" She lied, "I just don't feel so hungry right now since I just woke up."

Her mother remained silent for a moment, taking the words in. Dawn wasn't a good liar, especially with her.

"I'll save this for you later then" She said and began taking the tray.

"Mom, where are Ash and Brock?" Dawned asked innocently.

"They just left." Her eyes never left the tray and the silverware. Dawn leaned over to the window, clearly seeing Ash by the yellow figure on his shoulder. Her gaze was redirected at her mother. Either she knew what was happening and didn't want to tell her or she was unaware. Dawn peered closely, unable to decipher whether her mother was putting on a mask.

"You really should've eaten your food, you'll heal faster if you eat and rest."

"Yes mom" Dawn grumbled, turning away as her mother left the room, cocooning herself in her sheets.

* * *

"When do we leave, Brock?"

"In a few hours"

"Good, the less time the better" Ash said as they headed back to Dawn's house.

"Did you forget anything at the house, Brock?"

"Just a few cooking utensils, how about you?"

"Nothing, lets just get in and go"

"Don't you want to say goodbye to Dawn first?"

"I already did."

Brock nodded, seeing that the conversation would not continue as the house was now within sight. Ash began walking to the side of the house, Brock stopped before the entrance.

"Where're you going, Ash?"

"I have no reason to go inside, just go and get your stuff, say goodbye, and get out."

"Suit yourself" Brock shrugged and opened the door, disappearing inside. Ash leaned against the side of the house. Pikachu hopped off, starring quizzically at his friend, unable to see his eyes past the cap that was pulled over.

Ash walked over to the back of Dawn's house and kicked the grass; small tufts rendered airborne with each swing. Suddenly, his foot collided with something like steel. Ash howled in pain, grabbing his foot and attempting to hop but his foot refused to lift any higher than a few inches off the ground. Ash pulled harder on his leg, falling backwards with his right foot dangling in the air, minus a shoe.

The pain in Ash's foot slowly eased, his mind had other things to focus on. Ash got back up, staring at his floating shoe. Pikachu yanked the resistant shoe; the invisible hook would not relent. Ash quickly put two and two together, sprinting into Dawn's home, Pikachu in pursuit. The door literally wrenched open as Ash rushed inside. Brock was still in the middle of talking with Johanna.

"We have to get out of here, now!" Ash screamed at the top of his lungs

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I think we were followed by Ariados, t-the web, a strand of the web somehow stuck to one of us and it's probably gonna lead the Ariados here!"

It suddenly clicked for Brock while it took another minute for Johanna to understand. The phone rung in the anxious silence, the rings continued to echo until Johanna picked it up. Brock and Ash couldn't help but watch every movement she made. Her time with the phone was a short one, she quickly thrust out her arm to them.

"It's for you"

Brock took it, the phone almost instantaneously at his ear.

"Professor Rowan, it's good that you called, we need your hel...wait...what? Hold on...what do you mean she never came back. Yes, we saw her lea- the Ariados! It must have been the bug Pokémon in the forest. That's why we need your help; Ash says that they may have followed us here. We need to get the people out of here now. Try calling the people in charge of the cruiseline. We can try getting people to safety from there. Wait, what? Professor? You're… you're breaking up, I can't…" Ash could hear the dead drone of the phone in the suffocating silence.

"Brock...what happened?"

Brock was silent for a while until Ash asked again.

"Officer Jenny never came back, they didn't see her leave the woods. They've tried calling professor Birch, Elm, and Oak, but they're not responding."

Brock literally thrust the phone into Johanna's hands, shoving past Ash.

"Brock! Where are you going?" Ash yelled; Brock had been speed walking with Ash tailing him.

"Stay with Dawn and her mother, help them get out and go find out what the situation is at Pallet Town. I'm gonna go look for Officer Jenny."

"Brock, are you crazy? You can't go in there!"

Ash was now running to catch up with him.

"It's too late for her, you can't save her, you'll be killed!" They had reached the edge of the forest.

"What do I tell your family? Huh? There are other Joys and Jennys that we could save. Don't waste your life on one that's probably already..." Ash swallowed, the next word was still hard for him to hear, let alone say.

Brock stopped

"You're right...okay? You're probably right. I just wish you weren't" Brock mumbled, turning around and heading back to the house. His face was turned, the shadows of the night veiling him from a certain angle. This was hard for him. Two of the most important people he had known died, and there was nothing he could've done for them.

"Lets go back to Dawn's house and explain what's happening to her mother, let me just get my shoe" Ash said, heading for the side of Dawn's house.

"What?"

"It's stuck to the web that I found connected to the house"

"Ash...if we destroy that web, we may be able to stop them from coming here!"

Ash, Pikachu, and Brock dashed towards the side of the house, seeing the floating shoe from afar. It was getting dark now, perfect conditions for an Ariados to come out and hunt. Ash pulled out two pokeballs, releasing Chimchar and Buizel from each hand.

"Chimchar, set a fire next to my shoe and Buizel, put out any flames near the house and my shoe."

"Bui," Buizel saluted.

"Chimchar" the fire monkey cried before it took aim.

An ember doused the invisible wire, now lit up as the flames traveled the length of it. Buizel sprayed water over the lingering flames inching towards the shoe and house. Ash and Brock watched as the blazing trail sped into the seemingly infinite dark void of the forest.

"Good job guys" Ash congratulated, returning them to their pokeballs. He shrunk the pokeballs and began putting them away when the screeches began. Thousands of horrid shrieks boomed from the forests making Ash and Brock flinch. The web, now detached from the house, had refused to burn up completely, lighting up the grass around it. Even if they were to put it out, it wouldn't matter as the damage had been done.

They hadn't taken the Ariados' lead into the town away; they had highlighted it for them.

Within seconds the screeching choir became the angry drone of buzzing. The receiving end wasn't very pleased with the highlighting of their trail, and now they were coming to town even faster.


	5. To the point

**August 19**

* * *

Dawn awoke to the sound of stampeding footsteps towards her room, watching her door slam open. The figure rushed over to her in a blur, tearing the sheets from her bed.

"A-Ash? What are you doing here?" Dawn cried out, shocked to see Ash in her room so suddenly, and tearing her sheets away nonetheless. Dawn felt Ash's hands slide beneath her body, she squeaked as he lifted her off the bed.

"We're getting out of here" he said as he strode towards the door.

"_He's not leaving me behind? I take back everything mean I said about him._" Her grin directed at him went unnoticed. Hurriedly, but carefully he descended the flight of stairs and kicked her front door open.

"Wait! Ash, I left my Pokémon in my roo- what's that noise?" Dawn asked; her hands plopped over her ears to drown out the painfully loud drone.

"I'll tell you later, and don't worry, you'll get your stuff as soon as possible" he panted.

"Are we going to be late for the cruise or something?"

"Yeah, sorta" he replied quickly, her house was beginning to merge into the darkness of the night as Ash put more distance between them.

"Where's Brock?" she inquired, her head swiveling around to look. Ash remained silent and ran.

The extra weight was beginning to take their toll on Ash, making him occasionally stop and rest, if only for a few seconds before he pushed himself to keep running with a grunt. Within minutes he was dripping with sweat, the limits to his endurance becoming clear.

"Ash, you've done enough, I can make it to the cruise ship now. You can put me down and rest, I'll do my best to move quickly," she suggested.

Ash shook his head frantically, sweat scattered from strands of his hair as he looked behind himself quickly.

"Ash, don't worry. I'm not as delicate as you think I am. This is sweet of you, but you can put me down now."

Ash didn't respond, in fact he ignored her completely as he kept looking behind him at the direction of the noise that had grown slightly fainter. That's when Dawn knew something was wrong, and that's when she noticed that something was missing.

"Where's Pikachu?"

"Pikachu's with Brock."

_He's worried about something…something behind us, the noise! He's trying to get away from the noise! But why? What's making it_?"

"Ash, what's wrong?" her tone was different now, she wasn't asking him to tell her, she was ordering him. The boy in question remained silent, doing double takes behind himself.

"What's going on!" she screamed, her pitch reigning over the drone and making Ash wince before looking at her.

"I…I can't tell you right now, I'll tell you later" He said. She could sense the tone of his voice hope that this would sate her until later. She would comply, for now.

* * *

Brock still couldn't believe that his plan had made things horribly worse than before. He had sent Johanna to the cruise ship, he volunteered to stay behind and slow the Ariados down. It had been his fault that he had practically damned them all, he would pay for it. Ash would never have left him stay to die, entrusting him to comeback with the only collateral he knew. Pikachu stood posed, ears twitching from the noise, from the anxiety, from…the thirst for blood.

The lightning bolt tail stood on end, static sparked from the crimson cheeks and tail. Brock could feel the exhilaration of the upcoming battle. Of course Pikachu was worried about dying, about saddening Ash, but this new strength had yet to be tested. Brock could almost hear Pikachu's heart threatening to beat out of that yellow furry chest. The sound of the door slamming behind him made him nearly jump out of his skin.

He heard Ash running with Dawn in his arms; Dawn wouldn't see them from this angle behind the house where the web had attached. Sweat slid from Brock's face, he imagined that if he ever survived this event the sound of the drone would still echo in his ears.

He could only imagine how Misty would've reacted in this situation. Considering it was an entire swarm of bug Pokémon, she probably would've run away, wet herself, and gone into a coma, in that order.

His chest began to hurt, the throbbing of his heart beat viciously against his ribcage. It was completely opposite to Pikachu's excitement, it was complete fear. Why had he volunteered to do this again? He needed a breather, if only for a second. But what? What excuse could he make to Pikachu? It sounded crazy to think of an excuse for a Pokémon, but if he didn't, would Pikachu look down on him? Dawn! Her Pokemon! He could use that.

"Hey, Pikachu. I'm gonna get Dawn's Pokémon and stuff. I'll be quick so don't worry."

Pikachu never looked at him, but nodded as the yellow mouse's body trembled from all the adrenaline. Brock nodded back and tried to make his legs not run towards the door.

"_I kinda know what Misty feels like now_" He forced a mental laugh as he went up the stairs. It took a while for him to find her things, not knowing where to look. He would fumble with things nervously, picturing that any second the Ariados would come. Objects would drop multiple times out of his quivering fingers after he'd picked them up the second time. Eventually he found the pokeballs in her bag from inside the closet and threw it into his vest.

He had just opened the door when Pikachu cried out; Brock could see the night brighten from the window. The first yell had been aggressive; Pikachu's next yell had been in surprise. Hundreds of thuds were heard against the side of the house. In less than seconds the thuds became cracks that in unison were a concerto of pings. Brock slammed the door and locked it, knowing it would do no good as he scrambled to the end of the room. He opened his bag, pulling out his cooking equipment as the thudding began to rise to the second story. It sounded like thousands of darts were impaling the door. It held, if only for three seconds before it splintered and unleashed the thousands of needles on the other side. Brock could see from the corner of his eye as everything was shredded beneath the wave of seemingly unending needles.

The rain wore away anything it pierced, maybe not at first and maybe not with one, but definitely by the sheer magnitude. It didn't seem like it would end, but finally there was silence as Brock peeked behind his pan. Needles imbedded in the wood had carpeted the entire floor, as were the walls. From a certain angle it looked like the floor and the walls were purple as Brock got up. Most of the walls had crumbled, and any of the surviving walls were perforated with so many holes that they might as well have been see through. His bag of metal cooking utensils in front of him had saved him from any damage. The pan that he had used to cover his face where the backpack couldn't reach wasn't as lucky. Hundreds of little bumps coated the bottom, and one needle had pierced halfway through, only centimeters from Brock's flesh. Brock gulped, flabbergasted that he had even survived this at all, to think if he were outside what would he have looked like in the aftermath. He quickly brushed the thought away from his mind. No matter how many times he closed his mouth, his jaw still dropped in horror.

He looked behind himself, the section of the wall he had leaned against remained intact, and the rest was gone. The two remaining parallel walls now only held up the roof, but just barely. He looked around; there was no way for him to walk out without stepping on the needles.

"Pikachu!" he gasped, realizing that the poor Pokémon was probably dead. From the opposing wall he could tell that each hole was at least a few centimeters away from the other. With almost no room to navigate around the needles, how could the Pokémon survive. What would he tell Ash? How would he break the news to him? That was in case he didn't die here. The Ariados were still out there, it would be utterly foolish of him to think that they would attack once and leave. Brock picked up his backpack, shaking loose any of the needles and swiping the rest of them off with his damaged pan before finally swinging it onto his back once more. He winced as the floorboards beneath him creaked from the weight.

Once he was sure the floor wouldn't give out Brock looked at the pan in his hand, now useless and let it drop. From the window he heard something scrabble along the roof of the house. Brock's faintest hope that Pikachu might've survived the onslaught was drowned instantly. The crimson exoskeleton of its head peeked in, the ivory mandibles glistening with saliva. Its glassy eyes fixed on Brock, its horn cracking through the glass while the flurry of the yellow purple striped legs moved.

Brock's hands thrust out in time to hold the insect's neck at bay, keeping its mouth way from his face. The force of the tackle knocked him backwards onto the carpet of nails. Brock could hear the crunching and snapping of the nails against his backpack, letting nothing skewer him. His knees and elbows held the bugs scurrying legs away from his body. It took all of Brock's strength to hold the Pokémon's head at bay.

Sickening clicks were emitted from the spider wasp's mouth as its mandibles tapped against each other. Ariados forced its jaws closer to Brock's face, missing by millimeters. Brock's strength was about to give, the pallid jaws barely brushing against the surface of his face. He could see the inner workings of the Pokémon's mouth, disgusted by what he saw. Had the fate of Officer Jenny been like this as well? Had she been killed, their poison poured into her, slowly digesting her from the inside until she was drinkable mush that they fed on?

A blur of silver glimmered above the Pokémon's neck. Brock watched as the crimson head flew off, bouncing off the wall and skewered by its brethren's artillery on the floor. Despite it being severed from its body, the head continued to smack its mandibles angrily and eagerly. Brock kicked the rest of the Pokémon's body off him and into another pile of spikes. The cold trickle of Ariados's blood stained Brock's shirt, the sudden jerk made the blood spill from its neck. Brock looked horrified as the headless body squirmed against the needle bed, its multiple legs scurrying in the air. The movements gradually slowed but hadn't stopped entirely. Brock looked around, looking for his savior who was standing right next to him. He felt a paw tug at his pant leg; Pikachu's serious piercing expression left him stunned.

"P-Pikachu? How…how did you?" There were many questions that Brock wanted answered. Brock looked at the beheaded Ariados and back to Pikachu who seemed willing to oblige in answering. Pikachu's tail hardened and switched color almost instantly. A metallic clang resounded from the transformation before it lightened back into yellow fur.

Ariados had been guillotined by Iron Tail.

Brock wouldn't have thought that such a blunt attack would've been capable of doing something like that.

"Pika, pika pi."

Brock looked back at Pikachu, almost reading the Pokémon's mind rather than hearing the words spoken at him. He nodded in agreement, "you're right, we've gotta go now." Pikachu sprinted past the only intact wall that Brock had shielded, Brock hesitant to pursue. They were on the second story, but then there was always a forest full of hungry Ariados that he could wait for. He dashed to where Pikachu stood poised on the shingles of the house. Brock's feet had only just stepped onto the shingles when that section of the house collapsed. Pikachu and Brock both remained standing as the section slowly fell like an elevator to the bottom floor. Brock could hear the shingles crumble and crack under his weight as he ran behind Pikachu. The electric Pokémon could've easily left him in the dust to be safe, but chose to move at the same pace as Brock. His ears caught the sound of the house collapsing behind them, whether it was from the strain or the renewed barrage of the Aridos, Brock did not know.

They had reached another house when it began to rain hell again. Pikachu jumped into the air, spinning around with an Iron Tail curved around its form. The wall of the house exploded, splintering debris flew everywhere. Brock stood there stunned until Pikachu yelled for him to run. His body surged forward, running through the abandoned house. Adrenaline surged through his veins, making him forget everything that didn't have anything to do with getting to the boat. The inside of the house was dark, he was running blind, occasionally knocking things over, bumping and bouncing off surfaces of objects, and stumbling. Light poured into the room from the opposite end of the house as Pikachu made a new exit.

Brock turned to look behind him, seeing the needles pierce through the ceiling, creating miniature holes where the moonlight filtered through. The amount of light that peered through the holes in the darkness could've resembled stars in the night sky. Brock hopped out of the house only to have it collapse entirely into rubble behind him. The pin missiles were raining dangerously at his heels. Any closer and the needles would have crucified Brock to the floor. After enough distance the barrage began to lesson and die, Brock refused to let up the pace of his running. Pikachu's ears twitched suddenly, Brock was shoved to a side as Pikachu lightly tackled him. A river of needles whizzed by the electric Pokémon. Brock watched in fascination as Pikachu darted around them, not a single one getting close, and ones that did were deflected instantly by Pikachu's Iron Tail.

From watching, one could see that this was easy to do for Pikachu; Pikachu considered this fun. Brock watched as strings shot to his left and right. Dozens of strands hooked to the surface and to any objects stand above the ground. Brock jerked back, one of the strings had latched onto his backpack. Sparing no time at all he shrugged out of it without a thought. Eventually this too began to lesson until it ceased completely. Brock turned back, only to see that everything behind them was shrouded in fog. Yet, upon closer inspection he saw that it wasn't a fog at all.

There were so many webs that they made the very open air behind them opaque in a funnel web veil. The ground beneath the haze was green with hundreds of Spinarak. Pikachu had yet to be out of breath, if anything, Pikachu was grinning from the experience. Brock was exhausted, but would continue to run until they had reached the cruise ship docking. He made a mental note that he would have to rethink the way he saw Misty's fear of bugs. This nightmare would be carved into his brain for a long time, and Brock wasn't ashamed to know that he would have to change his pants once he got on the cruise.

* * *

Ash placed Dawn down once they reached the people directing the people onto the cruise. They had been walking for the last few minutes, Ash was exhausted but refused to put Dawn down or rest. He approached one of them, seeing the fatigue and worry on their faces as they hadn't counted on ensuring the safety of so many people.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Look kid, just get in line and get on the cruise so that you're safe from danger"

"Do you have to pay?"

"No, this is an evacuation, no one has to pay"

"You were contacted by Professor Rowan, right?"

"Yes, yes we were, but it was one of his assistants and the signal was lost, so we don't even know what's coming. They just told us to contact every person in this town and to evacuate them."

"Alright then" Ash concluded, leaving the shepherd to tend to his sheep as he returned to Dawn. Dawn could here the rustle of grass behind her, turning her head to see Brock and Pikachu.

"Brock! Pikachu! I'm glad you guys made it, how'd it go?" Ash yelled from afar.

Pikachu leapt up into Ash's arms, hugging Ash with joy. Brock wasn't so energetic; he was bent over and panting with no intention of looking Ash in the eyes. Dawn and Ash noticed that Brock's backpack was missing as Brock stared at Pikachu on Ash's shoulder.

"_Such incredible power and speed, but at the same time so loving and carefree. If only you'd seen what Pikachu had done, Ash, you'd probably be seeing Pikachu a bit differently_."

"Brock, Where's your stuff?" Dawn asked, her palm rubbing against his back before jerking it back as his entire body was soaked with sweat.

"It got left behind, I don't think they're following me anymore but we have to get out of here as fast as we can. Oh, I forgot to give you this!"

Brock reached over to the inside of his vest, pulling out Dawn's pokeballs and handing it to her. Her eyes lit up, giving Brock a brisk hug, trying to ignore the dampness of his clothes.

"I was able to secure these" Brock smiled shakily.

"Dawn!"

The group turned around to see someone leave the line into the cruise ship, the people behind filling in the gap without a second thought.

"Mom?" Dawn said in disbelief as Johanna came and hugged her.

"Ash told me to get here before he went to pick you up, the line is long, but a friend of mine is holding my spot in line and I don't think she'll mind if you cut in front of us. I've been hearing that the boat is beginning to reach its maximum capacity and everyone's worried that they may not be able to get on. No one knows what we're evacuating from, but no one wants to stay and find out seeing as it looks so urgent."

"We should probably get in line then" Brock suggested, waddling over to the end of the line while still hunched over.

"Brock, is something wrong, are you wounded?" Ash asked, ducking to get a better view of what Brock was hiding.

"I-It's nothing, just a bit of a stomach cramp from running so much. Don't worry, it'll go away once I rest in our cabin."

"If you say so, but that's considering that we get a cabin from how crowded the ships going to be" Ash clarified. He carried Dawn to the end of the line along with the others. No other people came behind them as they waited to board the ship. As they approached the deck of the boat, one of the crewmen stopped them, another crewman whispering something into his ear. The crewman on the receiving end visibly slouched as the messenger disappeared behind the masses of people practically teetering at the edge of the ship.

"How many people?" He asked solemnly, switching his gaze from the clipboard in his hands and them.

"Four" Ash said, the officer wincing at the number and looked at them with sorrow.

"I'm sorry but we're past our max capacity by fifty people, I just got a message from the captain that we can only take _two_ more people."

"What! What do you mean only two of us can go, can't you make an exception?"

"Look, this boat's already past its max capacity for people, not to mention that everyone brought luggage along."

The man brought Ash close, Dawn and Brock huddling around Ash.

"I don't even know if the boat will sink or not once we begin to sail. We've tried to lighten the load by throwing off the heavy items into the sea but now there's nothing left to throw off unless we toss the only things that make this boat move or unless you want us to start throwing off people. If I let your friends on, then everyone behind her's gonna wanna get on, and the last thing you want is for there to be a riot that gets this ship damaged. It's not my order, it's the captain's. We have to leave now, and if you want to complain to him, you're gonna hafta get on the boat, but once three people cross over, we're gone" the man whispered, peering over Ash's shoulder to see the large throng of worried people.

"Sir, if it's a question of money then I-"

The man shook his head, "if this were simply about money then I'd accept a bribe, but it isn't. Money's not gonna do any good if this ship sinks halfway through the trip."

The man stared into Johanna's eyes for a few seconds before glancing over at Dawn and closing his eyes.

"She looks light so I don't think it'll make a difference if she comes on, but that's all. We can't take another person" the man said, pointing at Dawn.

Ash was livid, he had no intention of leaving anyone behind but at the same time he knew in his heart that the argument was pointless.

"Ash, it's okay. I'll stay behind" Johanna said quietly. Everyone stared at her incredulously, except for Dawn.

"Mom, I'll stay with you then" Dawn said calmly, her expression was monotone.

"No Dawn, you're safer with them, I won't be able to protect you as well as they can from whatever is happening. You promise to protect her as best you can?" Dawn's mother said, her gaze aimed at Ash.

"I swear that I won't ever let her get hurt again," Ash declared.

The people behind them were getting impatient and rowdy, the crewman threw nervous glances to Ash and his group.

"Then it's settled" Dawn's mother said with a smile.

"No it's not mom, I'm not leaving you here to die."

"We can provide transport to the others to another station until another ship arrives, we'll be in contact with this one and we'll see if we can evacuate more people that may not have gotten the message or arrived late. They will be safe with us, we can get an armored transport if necessary."

"That's not good enough" Dawn snapped, the man flinched from the ferocity.

"That will be fine, thank you. I appreciate it." Dawn's mother replied to the crewman.

"Mom! You can't do this!" Dawn's monotone act could no longer bottle her emotions. Dawn's mother went over and hugged her, Dawn sobbing into her shoulder as her mother's fingers stroked through the cascading river of blue hair. Ash went over to Johanna, his eyes serious.

"I promise you, once I see that everything's okay around my town, I promise that we'll meet up with you."

"I'll hold you to it" Johanna smiled.

"If you could make your way to the boat," the crewman said

"Give them some time alone, Ash" Brock mumbled to him before disappearing.

Ash nodded and followed Brock to the inside of the cruise. Dawn's crying had ceased but she remained in her mother's embrace with no intention to leave.

"Dawn sweetheart, I love you," She whispered.

"I love you too mom, more than anything" Dawn whimpered on the brink of tears again.

"Anything? In a few years that might change. You're lucky to have friends like him; you sure do know how to pick'em" Johanna chuckled, desperately trying to change the subject for her daughter's sake.

"Mom, it's not like that" Dawn whined, her face pressed tightly against her mother, hiding her blush.

"Even if it isn't, I know that I'm leaving you in capable hands." Johanna slowly drew away from her daughter's arms. Dawn clung to her for a moment be letting go and watching her mother walk down to the docks. The stairs were reeled in, Dawn remained glued to the edge of the boat, watching her mother glued to the dock. Tears streamed down their faces, the latter with happiness, the former with anguish, but both collected by the sea.

The boat began to move, both of them still staring at each other until they could no longer distinguish the other's figure. Dawn continued to watch in the general direction of the dock, the image of her mother waving her goodbye, smiling as if she were going on a vacation and coming back. Ash returned, unsurprised to see her unmoving from the same spot on the edge of the boat. He handed her a crutch he had found on the boat, telling her the number of their room.

"Dawn, I'm sorry. I promise you, we'll see her again." Dawn made no comment, Ash left her, and after a couple of minutes, she began heading towards their cabin, squeezing through throngs of chattering people who cared not that she was wounded.

* * *

**Yeah I know I suck at touching scenes like that, but I'll try to get better. I want apologize for how a lot of the parts in this fic are badly written, seeing as it is my first fic. I promise that it gets better, so just bare with me. **


	6. Feeding Frenzy

They had luckily managed to secure a cabin for the three of them including Pikachu. Saying that you were Rowan's assistants with a special mission could open many doors. Brock had changed clothing as soon as he could, using Ash's spare pair of pants. They were a little tight on him but he insisted on wearing them. Dawn had been laying on the bottom bunk bed while Brock was in the bathroom. It was several hours into the night, but no one seemed to be able to sleep. Dawn had been sulking for the past few hours, refusing to talk to anyone.

"Brock, are you alright in there?" Ash leaned into the door, hearing Brock vomit again and again. He had said that he was feeling sea sick, but Ash felt as though he was lying, considering that they had been on many boat rides before.

"I'm fine," he gasped, taking a pause from the torture.

"I'm gonna go get something to eat, do you want any?"

Brock threw up again, "No thanks Ash, I'm not really hungry at the moment, I don't think that I can eat anything right now. Even if I could, I don't think that it would stay in me for very long."

"Alright then" Ash replied, concern for his friend was laced in his voice. He was heading for the door when he turned to Dawn. She hadn't spoken a single word since her head hit the pillow. He knew she wasn't asleep even though her breathing was normal and her back was towards him. The Pokémon had tried to comfort her but to no avail, she ignored all of them completely. Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder as he stared at Dawn's still form. She was so motionless that he could've sworn she was dead. His promise hadn't consoled her at all.

"Dawn, I'm gonna get some food. You want any?"

She didn't even twitch in his direction. Ash nodded, "I'll bring you something in case you get hungry, okay?" His only answer was silence. He closed the door, leaving the room dimly lit; it was mostly silent except for the noises of Brock's vomiting. Brock had attempted to fall asleep, only to wake up in a cold sweat.

The scenes of the Ariados had plagued his dreams a few hours earlier. All of his thoughts reverted back to it, seeing its disembodied head still clamping its mandibles together. Its headless body still scurrying in the air while the very pins its hive had fired skewered it. He had never seen Pikachu kill before; he had never considered Pikachu to be so dangerous and frightening.

Were all of his Pokémon like that?

* * *

"You look like an intelligent man; I can tell that you know when fate has dealt you a good hand."

The salesman smacked his paper fan against the stand, drawing the man's attention from across the room. The man approached the stand curiously, his mouth full of food from the kitchen.

"Do you want to know a secret on how to make money quick and easy? I have with me a Magicarp that will-."

The salesman never finished his sentence as a fist slammed into his face, nearly breaking his jaw.

"YOU! You're that bastard that sold me that Magicarp when I first met you; you made me lose my Victreebell too. Because of you I wasted good money, and I lost the respect of my teammates."

The salesman was a bit dazed from the punch, but as he looked closer he realized that he had scammed this customer before. The man's lavender hair almost touched his shoulders, his emerald eyes burning with anger. The crimson R insignia of his organization was hidden under his clothes to hide his Identity. James had met this man before when they were on a similar cruise line.

"W-wait, I'm sorry. I promise that I won't do anything like this again, I swear. Don't hurt me; I have a wife and kids…possibly. Just don't hit the face."

James proceeded to stomp and kick the ever-living crap out of the con artist that had caused him so much grief and humiliation in the past. He dusted himself off as he walked away from the twitching and mangled site.

"Wat was dat all about?" Meowth asked, taking another bite out of some cake.

"Just taking care of some unfinished business, don't worry about him, he'll live." James remarked smugly as he wolfed down more food. Meowth eyed the large bandage on James's arm. James noticed where Meowth was staring, smiling warmly at his teammate.

"Don't worry about it, it doesn't hurt anymore" James reassured and continued eating. Meowth nodded silently, resuming what he was doing.

* * *

Ash passed them, each completely unaware of the other's presence in such close proximity. The dining room of the cruise ship was moderately filled; some people were browsing for food and eating, and others were lined up against the wall while sleeping and guarding their luggage. The room was dimly lit, the only true light coming from the heat lamps suspended over the food, making their juices glisten in the light to appear more mouthwatering. It was working.

"Brock and Dawn are missin out" Ash thought, his mouth watering at the dishes on the table. There wasn't much of a line for food; the servers seemed fatigued for the most part. Ash grabbed his plate, staring hungrily at the tubs of food shinning before him. He piled what he could on his plate, making a small mountain that teetered dangerously to a side whenever he moved it too quickly.

"Pika, Pika chu pika pi?" Pikachu said, the tone obviously concerned.

"No Pikachu, this isn't too much for me, I'm gonna eat till I blow" Ash smiled, smacking and licking his lips. Pikachu sighed, its head shaking in disappointment. In reality, this was sort of Ash's way to cope with all the stress he had built up. There was so much to worry about and he planned to drown it in his gluttony. Ash balanced his plate carefully, stopping at one tub in particular. It was a Krabby leg, lying at the mercy of any person willing to take the last one.

Ash looked around, hoping that no one else had targeted his prey before he went for the kill. From what he could see in the corner of his eyes, he was in the clear. Ash rushed over to the tub taking the nearby clamps and reaching for the leg. Simultaneously, another clamp snapped onto the same leg. Ash froze momentarily, pondering whether he should be polite and relinquish the morsel before him to the other person.

"_No, I grabbed it first, why should I give it up_" Ash countered within his own mind, clutching the clamp tighter. The other contender obviously thought the same thing because the clamp remained latched onto the dismembered eatable limb. Ash tried pulling the leg towards his side, mimicked only by the other person. They were at a stalemate now; strength would determine the victor. Ash pulled as hard as he could, Pikachu watching silently and with partial interest at this new development.

"Jeez twerp, give it up already, why do you want this? You already have a freaking mini mountain on your plate. Besides, I grabbed it first!" The women grumbled through her gritted teeth. Ash looked at his opponent's plate, equally large, if not a little larger than his.

"Speak for yourself, you've got more than me!" Ash grunted, falling back as the leg snapped into two pieces. Fortunately the plates and the food mounds had remained on the tray shelf. Pikachu had jumped off Ash as he fell and hit the ground, Pikachu at his side. Ash watched the crimson wisp of hair flow from her head, draped down to her waist. Her piercing cobalt eyes met with his, her scarlet lipstick painted upon her scowling lips.

"Team rocket?"

"The twerp?"

Their eyes were locked together, neither refusing to blink in case of missing something. Pikachu was just starting to catch on, the Pokémon's gaze turned towards Jessie. Sparks flared angrily from the crimson cheeks as Pikachu stared at Jessie. Her expression was bewildered and frustrated.

* * *

The plan had been simple, they weren't getting anywhere with trying to capture Pikachu. For four years they had chased him onto different continents, not once were they even close to succeeding. It occurred to them that they were getting nowhere with this and they were better off staying away from the twerps. Even as they tried to make a scam, though not directly targeting Pikachu, their paths would cross and their plans thwarted. The agreement had been unanimous to put as much distance between the twerps and themselves. They would go back to Kanto and started beating down first time trainers as a start. It would no longer be about the quality of the Pokémon, it was the quantity. Sure the plan of picking on new trainers seemed pretty low, even for them. But they had to start somewhere. Besides, they would be able to get starter Pokémon, which weren't very common in the wild. Right when they had formulated this plan, Meowth and their other Pokémon began to go wild. Meowth had accidentally scratched James, the cut drawing blood instantly.

Both of them were surprised to see that Meowth's cut had actually wounded James and that the cut had yet to heal entirely. After a few hours, their Pokémon seemed to have regained normalcy. Meowth had tried to explain what had just happened while they were patching up James. Neither of them really understood what had taken place. They felt it would be better that they leave the continent as soon as possible by any means. The Magikarp submarine was out of the question considering that they would have to pedal an entire ocean. On the other hand, their Meowth balloon only had enough fuel to make half a trip across the ocean. They had settled by a town, purchasing tickets to the local cruise line that would transport them away from Sinnoh. It was pricey considering that they were taking a lot of luggage with them, but it was better than pedaling or having to stand for hours in an air balloon. They had expected that as they headed back to where the twerp first started his journey here on the continent, he would be progressing forward while they headed back. Why on earth would the very person that they were avoiding and that was days behind them be here?

* * *

"James, Meowth!" Jessie yelled. The two reacted immediately, throwing their plates of food away and assuming position.

"_Oh god no, not this again_" Ash moaned mentally.

"To protect the world from devastation-"

"Uo ani all epls-" James stopped to swallow the food in his mouth before continuing any further. "Within our nation-"

"Jessie was annoyed at the lack of professionalism but continued.

"To-"

The whole ship seemed to shake and shudder, anyone that had been standing was thrown to the ground. Everyone was just starting to get up when the ship leaned to the right. Plates and food started sliding down the incline, crashing onto the floor, shards and pieces of food tumbling along. The ship shuddered and began leaning in the other direction.

Ash began to roll in the direction of the incline, as were the people that had cocooned themselves in their sleeping bags. Tables began to slide along with anything that wasn't bolted to the ground. The boat balanced itself out after a few seconds, Ash the first to get up and try and assess the situation. Pikachu followed Ash as he ran to the side of the boat. His body slammed into the rails painfully as he tried to stop, Pikachu hopping onto his shoulder as he looked out into the sea. The night was an opaque darkness that let no moonlight filter through the black clouds.

Ink seemed too pallid compared to the void that was the ocean. Ash heard a splash from below, his body leaning dangerously far over the edge of the rails. He watched in horror as dozens of Sharpedos sprang from the ocean's surface. They spun rapidly, becoming blurs as the tips of their noses pierced the metal on the side of the cruise. Gaping holes were born on the side of the ship, left wide open to let the sea fill in the gaps with water. Dozens of Sharpedo did this, repeating the process with no end in sight. The area behind them began to bubble before something burst from the water.

Ash watched it rise up floors, stopping before him, each at eye level. Its black rounded body was in complete contrast to its white eyes, a sapphire crown atop its head with ruby encrusted jewels shinning from each globe. Eighty tentacles rose from the ocean as the Tentacruel began boarding the ship. Someone from behind him screamed, triggering the Tentacruel's instincts. A tentacle surged forward, its width the same as both of Ash's legs side by side.

Ash ducked, the tentacle boring through the steel to the kitchen, and silencing the screamer. Hundreds of other screams exploded from the room. The tentacle began sliding back and forth, tearing up the metal as if it were paper. Ash began to crawl downstairs while the Tentacruel blindly swiped at the kitchen's interiors. Pikachu scampered ahead of him, showing him the way to the stairs.

He reached the stairs and rolled down a flight. As painful and uncomfortable as it was, it got him down there quicker than if he crawled. He wasn't about to do that for the next flight so he got up, following Pikachu down. Ash practically jumped down the flights of stairs, wincing as his feet slammed into the ground and absorbed the shock. Pikachu did the same but more nimbly, waiting for Ash at every drop.

* * *

He had reached the floor where they had stayed after what seemed like forever. Ash was reluctant to get anywhere near the rails. As he stepped onto the floor he slipped, the entirety of his body slamming into the ground. Pikachu had also slipped and landed flat on its stomach as soon as it touched the floor.

Ash lay there for a few seconds before forcing himself to get up carefully. The surface of Ash's shirt was wet, as were his gloves and knees as he got up. He looked around for the source of water, seeing that the next flight of stairs was completely submerged. Water was beginning to flood out of the bottom floors and into this one.

This ship was sinking.

Ash tried to think of a way to stand up and not slip again when the surface of the submerged flight began to bubble. The splash made Ash instinctively push his body away from the water, his body sliding along the wet floor. The serrated jaws of a Sharpedo snapped at nothing while it wriggled on the ground. Ash could see its intentions as it squirmed towards him.

Ash's hands found the railing, lifting himself up and using it as his support. Pikachu slid to his side, for some reason Pikachu made no attempt to attack. The Sharpedo stopped moving, opening its mouth wide and baring its rows of teeth. Ash pulled himself away from the range of its attack, his feet sliding on the floor with the rails as his guide. Light erupted from Sharpedo's mouth, the pillar of light enveloped part of the railing. Ash stared at the orange and yellow beam of light as it traveled into the night sky and glimmering out of existence. He looked back on the section of the rails that had been enveloped by the light, in its place nothing was left but the glowing molten ends. The Sharpedo looked exhausted from the attack, slumped along the floor and panting.

"_It knows Hyper Beam?! I have to stop it before it attacks again_."

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt" Ash said calmly, Pikachu shook its head.

"Why not?" Ash said, his voice now getting a little panicky as the Sharpedo began regaining its strength. Pikachu pointed to the floor, its paw splashing the water leaving small ripples.

"_There's water everywhere, if Pikachu uses any electric attacks, it'll hurt anyone touching the water_"

"Pikachu, see if you can get that Sharpedo into the air, then use it" Ash advised.

Pikachu nodded sliding over to Sharpedo on its belly, spinning counterclockwise before getting near it. Sharpedo's glistening teeth clicked together as it snapped at Pikachu's body. Pikachu's tail was held before its mouth like bait, the Sharpedo not giving it a second thought.

Before its teeth crunched onto the tail, Pikachu's tail flashed silver with a metallic clang. Rows of teeth sunk into Pikachu's tail, some shattered but blood still drew from the wound. Sharpedo's entire body was lifted by the iron tail and flung over the rails. Pikachu jumped up, lightning zigzagged through the air and struck Sharpedo on the nose.

Its body was instantly charred and thrown into a frantic seizure. Ash looked away, knowing what he would've seen had he continued to watch Sharpedo as its eyes bugged out. Pikachu landed and scampered over to Ash with a smile on its face. Ash looked over the railing, watching the flaming body splash into the water. His face contorted into a horrified grimace as the area around Sharpedo began to bubble.

The flames were gone, revealing Sharpedo's blacken body, but not for long. Patches of skin were quickly being torn from every angle as Carvanha feasted on its own brethren. Ash looked at Pikachu, smiling at having done the task it was asked to do. When Ash didn't return the same sentiments, Pikachu's expression changed to concern.

Ash didn't know whether to be happy that Pikachu had killed Sharpedo, or uneasy that Pikachu had killed Sharpedo. In the end, Pikachu had killed another living creature. Whenever Pikachu had done something that Ash asked it to, Ash would congratulate Pikachu afterwards. Now, he didn't know whether he could honestly praise Pikachu for killing.

"T-thanks for…saving me, Pikachu" He said uneasily, forcing his arm over to Pikachu's head and ruffling the yellow fur between the ears. Pikachu did not squeal in delight, seeing through the charade that Ash put on.

"Sorry Pikachu, I'm not used to this, I'll get over it, just give me some time."

Pikachu nodded solemnly, hopping off the railing and scampering next to him. Ash began heading to Brock and Dawn's room with Pikachu. He noticed that Pikachu hadn't jumped onto his shoulder. Pikachu didn't even make eye contact with him, its eyes staring only forward. Ash swiped his keycard through the door, opening it as soon as the light turned green. The room was empty and dark, the light from the bathroom was gone and Dawn's be was empty.

"_Did they leave without me_?" Ash thought, feeling instantly betrayed and angry.

"Pi" Pikachu said, pointing to the top bunk bed. Ash looked up, seeing that something was up there.

"Dawn, Brock? Are you in here? It's me, Ash. I came to get you; we have to get out of here! Water Pokémon are attacking the ship!" Ash yelled

The covers shifted and moved, Brock slipping out of the bed and holding his arms out to catch Dawn who proceeded to slip out next.

"How are we getting out of here?" Brock asked, walking through the scattered objects thrown to the floor by the earlier leaning of the boat.

"I don't really know, I thought that maybe we could think of something. I was actually worried that you guys left me already."

"We had a hunch that the disturbance was Pokémon related, so we thought we would hide for a while and hope that you came."

"Pikachu's wounded!" Dawn commented.

Pikachu's tail had been bleeding from Shapedo's bite, up until now, not even Pikachu had noticed. Brock bent Down, wrapping a bandage around the wound and making a knot.

"That'll have to do for now until we can get some real medical attention" Brock said.

"We can't stay long, the boat is sinking, there's already water starting to flood on this floor."

"All right, lets get to higher ground and then think of a way to get off this ship."

Brock carried Dawn out of the room, Ash followed with their supplies in his hands. Their ankles were now wading through the water that had risen in the last few seconds and was continuing. The water had gotten so high that Pikachu had jumped onto Brock's shoulder, never giving Ash a glance.

They made their way up the stairs, closing the doors behind them to slow down the water. Ash tripped, his teeth only inches from the edge of the step before Brock grabbed him by the collar.

"We're gonna have to be more careful goin up these stairs, the floor's wet and we want to avoid having our teeth knocked out."

Ash got up to his feet, Brock letting go of his shirt and placing the second arm under Dawn's body to hold her up more securely.

* * *

After carefully going up another several flights, they reached the top. There was never a stop to the screaming as people tried to escape the attacks. Three Tentacruel surrounded the ship; dozens of tentacles scanned the deck. Ash watched horrified as one man tried to make his way to them, only to be doused with an inky black liquid.

The man screamed and his body began to emit steam as the acid ate away at his skin. His body fell, only to be trampled by another person running for the exit. The man never made it as a tentacle wrapped around him and lifted him off the ground. His body flailed for a few seconds before his going limp and his screams ceased.

Billions of microscopic needles penetrated his body, all emitting neurotoxin into his system. This process seemed to occur everywhere on the deck, hundreds of black painted bodies were walked over as if they were part of the deck floor while screaming people were snatched off the boat by tentacles. Ash watched as one man dodged and ducked past the flying tentacles. It was a spectacle to see the man gracefully save himself from death.

"Get out of the way!" the man screamed, it took a few seconds for Ash's body to comprehend and comply. The man literally dived into the hallway, rolling quickly onto his back. His steaming shoes had the bottom soles missing, stepping over the acidic bodies had eaten away at the material.

"Close the door!" he bellowed, Ash doing as he was told. "Get away from it!" the man said, already heading for the room below via the stairs. Ash backed away, jumping back as something dented the steel of the door.

"Move!" Ash yelled, jumping down the stairs after the man as the tentacle burst through. Brock followed Ash, wincing while he jumped as the tentacle probed the hallways. The man continued to go down the flights while Ash and others stopped after two.

"Sir, wait! You can't go down there! Brock, stay here with Dawn, I'll be back." Ash yelled, running after the man.

Ash listened as the man babbled insanely, "I'm not gonna die, I'm not gonna die, I won't end up like the others."

"You can't go down there, it's flooded and there's Pokémon there too," Ash yelled, but the man wouldn't listen. Ash had caught up with the man when he had reached a door they had closed to slow down the flooding. "Don't open that door" Ash cried, but was too late as a wave of water threw him back against a wall. Ash watched as the man had only made his way a few steps through the water when a Tentacool jumped onto him. Its two tentacles wrapped around his waist and tightened, his screaming stopped. Ash began to run, hearing a sickening sound in the background of the man's spine snapping. As he rose up flights, he noticed some people running down the hall, but these weren't any random group and they gave him an idea. He reached the floor where Brock, Dawn and Pikachu were waiting for him.

"Ash, where's the guy?" Brock asked.

Ash shook his head, panting too hard to say anything. This noticeably disturbed Brock and Dawn but let the matter go quickly.

"I…have a way…to get out of here," Ash wheezed.

"How?" Both Brock and Dawn said in unison.

"Team Rocket is here."

"What? How?"

"I met them in the buffet room"

"But how does that mean that we can get out of here?"

"Team Rocket always has that Meowth balloon around them, I think we can take it for ourselves. They're on the floor beneath us; we can get to the balloon if we hurry."

Pikachu and the other two nodded, following Ash down to the previous floor. Ash closed the door behind them, seeing through a small circular mirror near the top as the stairs behind them was flooding already. The floor wasn't slippery and their shoes had dried, allowing them to run as fast as they could without worry of falling. Ash looked out the mirror on the side of the hallway, giving him a view to the side of the cruise, the ocean, and the Tentacruel.

Ash began to run even faster, telling Brock to do the same, who, after seeing the Tentacruel outside gave him more incentive. It was like watching a flipbook as Ash watched the Tentacruel through the windows he ran by. The Tentacruel lifted one large tentacle into the air aimed at them. Ash, Brock, and Pikachu reached the other end of the hallway, jumping down a flight of stairs to the lower level. The sound of screeching metal nearly deafened their ears as the tentacle dropped from above like an ax and tore through half the entire ship from the top.

Ash hadn't stopped running and neither had Brock or Pikachu. This section of the boat hadn't flooded as a few doors had slowed it down. Ash had looked back, seeing the fin of a Sharpedo through the circular window through the door. The door could burst in any second and flood the hallway and release the water Pokémon on them.

Water flooded on the floor beneath them, the Sharpedo had skull bashed the door. It looked up at them and opened its mouth, a geyser of water surged near them as they ran up another flight. The water pressure had punched a clean hole through the ceilings and the floors of the upper levels.

* * *

After enough climbing they reached the cargo room of the cruise. It was like a warehouse, rows of lights shined over the isles of boxes and the inflating Meowth balloon. The flame that inflated the balloon lit the room dimly and gave flickering shadows while James, Meowth, and Jessie were waiting in front of it.

"Freeze Team Rocket!" Ash yelled, gaining the attention of the three. They began reaching for their pokeballs. "Do you really want your Pokémon to die by lightning? I wouldn't make any sudden moves if I were you. Pikachu will kill you if necessary."

Their hands dropped lifelessly at their sides, standing still and waiting for Ash's next move. Dawn and Brock remained silent, letting Ash do the talking. They were kind of shocked to see that Ash would rely on threats of that caliber.

"What do you want twerp?" Jessie said angrily.

"That's Ash to you, and we want your balloon so that we can get out of here"

Jessie, James, and Meowth laughed mockingly, Ash gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

"Do you even know how to maneuver a hot air balloon?" Jessie inquired.

"I've only done it once or twice, but considering how smart you guys are, kids could do it."

"Ouch, no need to get mean. So your plan is to take our air balloon and leave us here to die," James guessed.

"That's pretty much the deal," Ash concluded.

"Ya won't make it very far, you'll be shot down in seconds considerin how slow this'll fly" Meowth warned.

"We'll take our chances" Brock interjected.

"The balloon can carry all of us," James informed.

"Your point?" Dawn hissed.

"We can make it go fast enough to get us all out of here safely," Jessie explained.

"How do we know you're not lying?"

The three of them stood there silently for a moment, looking at each other before answering at the same time.

"We'll let you get in the balloon first."

Even Pikachu was taken off guard by the proposal laid before them.

"No tricks?" Ash asked, unsure whether or not to believe them. They nodded and moved to a side, letting them through. They were hesitant at first but trudged slowly past them, their eyes never leaving the Rockets. Ash hopped into the basket and helped Brock with Dawn, Pikachu hopped on the edge. Team Rocket slowly walked over to them, even waiting for them to get into the basket.

Ash, Brock, and Dawn exchanged looks answering the other's questions without a word being said. They had the total opportunity to take the balloon and leave them stranded. But then there would always be the guilt of what they had done, and it would mean that they had sunk, if not lower, than Team Rocket themselves.

Team Rocket was about to hop into the basket when the entirety of the boat shuddered. The boat was now leaning into the ocean, pulling all the contents of the cargo room across the hall, into the center of the boat. Jessie, James, and Meowth began sliding back, the edge of the basket just out of their reach. Fear dwelled the shimmering pools of their eyes, the images of Ash and the others reflected off them.

Three arms launched out and grabbed three wrists before they got too far away. The look of surprise blossomed on their faces as Ash and the others pulled them in. The basket began to slide down as well when James yanked the cord at the top; the flame grew larger, lifting the basket above the heavy crates that would've smashed them seconds earlier.

"You coulda left us ta die an taken da balloon" Meowth remarked incredulously. Ash and the others made no comment to cure Team Rocket of their disbelief. The air balloon pushed through the roof easily, rising quickly into the sky. Ash and the others looked at the scene below them from all around. Tentacruel had split the ship in half completely where it had left off before. Both pieces were sinking into the ocean, forming a large V.

"That's the second time that we've survived a sinking boat," James said to no one in particular, reminding Ash of the S.S. Anne. Water guns were fired at them, nearly piercing the balloon before Jessie pressed a button; making two rockets appear the sides of the baskets and propelling it out the water stream's range.

"_Looks like they kept their part of the bargain_" Ash thought.

"At least your mother wasn't on the boat with us" Brock said to Dawn, she nodded in agreement. Inside she was happy, but what she saw shocked her. People were jumping off the boat and into the ocean to escape the wrath of the Tentacruel. What they didn't know was that they were jumping into another form of death.

Carvanha peeled the victims to the bone within seconds; others that had tried to escape in a dingy were sadly mistaken if they thought that it would protect them. Sharpedo either knocked them over or blasted them from beneath, if the aqua jets didn't tear the people apart, then the Sharpedo would.

Tentacool grabbed people who attempted to swim away, breaking them instantly. Tentacruel picked up people swimming beneath it, snapping or crushing them within its grip and devouring them. There was so much screaming that it brought everyone on the basket on the brink of tears, with the exception of Pikachu, Brock, and Meowth. Dawn and Jessie couldn't bear to look anymore, but James and Ash stood there fascinated and horrified at the same time. Brock was silent for a while; he looked away after a few seconds.

They watched people point at them screaming for help and head towards them, only to die in vain with false hopes. It pained Ash greatly to think that they couldn't help these people, the balloon wouldn't be able to take any more weight.

"_Wait, maybe there is a way that I can help them, I could kill the Pokémon and…the water. Any attack that Pikachu makes would instantly kill the survivors, I can't summon another Pokémon right now or the balloon will drop. Pikachu's attack is the only way to surely kill them in one shot. The survivors are dying anyway, would they want to be killed instantly instead of slow and painfully?"_

"You can end their suffering, Ash. It's your call; we can't make Pikachu attack. I think they would want this, though." Brock suggested. Ash nodded, he held their fate in his hands.

"Pikachu, use Thunder on the water near them" Ash said quietly. Pikachu nodded obediently, but never looked at him. The electric Pokémon climbed up the rope that suspended the basket and climbed up the balloon's surface. Once Pikachu was on top, it jumped, scalding waves of heat rose into the air. The clouds noticeably darkened and flashed from the internal lightning. The Pokémon stopped their feeding frenzy, staring at the celestial heavens that would be passing judgment upon them through lightning. A lightning bolt struck Pikachu, the volts absorbing into its body temporarily.

Its fur glowed a fuzzy static golden color like when it did Volt Tackle. Pikachu released all that it had, redirecting the lightning into the epicenter of the carnage. Every living being shook violently and dropped, a floating genocide in the wake of the thunder. The people within the basket were silent, turning away from the scene.

Pikachu jumped into the basket, expecting no praise for what had been done. Ash continued to watch the scene until he could no longer see it due to distance and tears. He pulled his cap down, choking on his sobs. What would his mother think if she knew that her only son had been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people?

* * *

**Chapter 8: Where the Broken Heart is**


	7. Where the Broken heart is

**August 20**

* * *

They had been traveling in the balloon for a few hours; everyone had subtlety moved away from Ash, giving him his space in one of the corners of the basket. Within a few hours they reached Kanto. Brock and Dawn explained what the situation was to James, Jessie, and Meowth. Both sides shared their stories and their goals for the future. Pikachu sat at the edge of the basket, right next to Ash. No eye contact was made; Ash stared down, while Pikachu stared forward, but neither even so much as looked at the other.

Pikachu was hurt, the look on Brock's face could be overlooked, but to have Ash give a look as if he had seen a monster was too painful. It's not like Pikachu wanted to kill; it was so easy now. There was so much strength coursing through its body, not only in its lightning bolts, but also in reflexes, speed, and strength.

Pikachu could now do things that it could never do before and the thought was exciting. Why was Ash so afraid? Pikachu had done exactly what Ash wanted. It used Thunder and didn't miss. Ash knew full well what Pikachu was capable of doing now. Its not like Pikachu could make its electric moves like Thunderbolt non lethal.

Now Ash was standing there, still as a statue, blaming himself for the deaths of all those people. Pikachu felt that it was also responsible for their deaths, but no one uttered blame. Ash had taken all the blame upon himself. He had given the order and it was his fault. It was true that Pikachu wouldn't have done it had Ash not ordered it. But Pikachu could've disobeyed.

Ash had been brooding over what he had done in the past few hours. He would never tell his mother, she didn't need to know, and he wished she never found out. Ash would ask the others not to mention it. Something suddenly came in front of his view, a tanned arm held a breathing apparatus.

"We're heading higher and the air'll be thin, your gonna need this to breathe" Brock explained. Ash took it and strapped it onto his face while Brock gave one to Pikachu. Everyone could feel their ears pop as they breached the clouds. Ash couldn't help but remember the last time that he had flown so high on Team Rocket's air balloon on the fat Pidgey Island where that one Pidgey had managed to fly to the earth's atmosphere.

Looking at Meowth, Ash could tell that he was thinking the same thing.

They continued to fly for a few hours, seeing nothing but a seemingly endless ocean of cotton as far as the eye could see. James and Brock were debating over a map and a compass. Dawn and Jessie were spacing out at the sea of clouds while Pikachu had decided to have Meowth in its company.

"I think we should be reaching Pallet Town, Ash" Brock announced. The balloon began to submerge past the sea of clouds, revealing to them the grassy plains just outside of Pallet Town. Everyone began to take off the air masks as they descended, handing it to Meowth who proceeded to put it away in a compartment in the side of the basket.

The flame in the center of the basket began to flicker weakly. There had really only been enough fuel to get them to this point. The rest of the way would have to be by foot when they landed, it was just a matter of the air balloon running out of gas and floating them down to the ground. They were only a few yards from the ground when Pikachu's ears twitched, the electric Pokémon jumping onto the edge of the basket.

Meowth seemed to be aware of something as well. Rows of trees were surrounding them, Ash noticing the subtle rustle in the branches from each tree, as did everyone else. Ash's eyes only caught up with the shadows of the creatures that swooped from their cover. The balloon above them seemingly shredded instantly; beyond repair.

Ash felt the basket plunge downwards; it didn't take long for it to slam into the ground. Ash's teeth shook from the impact, the force of the landing throwing him over the basket. Pikachu had jumped off before the basket had crashed and was poised for attack. The glaring sun made it hard to look up and see them, their bodies casting shadows on the ground that flew in circles. Everyone else had managed to stay in the basket, their bodies half draped over the edge.

"Fearow" the Pokémon squawked from all sides, their circling ceased, eight in total flapping their wings to keep themselves aloft as they floated in place. Judging from the distance, they were outside the range of Pikachu's Thunder.

"Meowth, what did they say?" Jessie asked, cowering behind the basket.

"Dey said dat if we make any sudden moves-" Meowth didn't seem to want to translate the rest. Pikachu's cheeks sparked in warning, hoping that the Fearow would take the bluff. From how fast they were, Pikachu knew that no one would be able to bring out another Pokémon for help. Pikachu had been the only one out to fight the other Pokémon for a few reasons.

First, Pikachu was the strongest out of all their Pokémon, and with the most experience. Pikachu was well rounded for any situation and was able to adapt. Second, no one was willing to put their Pokémon in harms way, and since Pikachu had already defeated many Pokémon, everyone sure that Pikachu could handle anything that came their way. Third, no one was able to bring out their Pokémon fast enough, and the summoning conditions weren't exactly in their favor with risk to them becoming a bigger target or being left behind.

Judging from the way that each Fearow looked and squawked at each other, they were debating what was the best way to kill them. Pikachu could easily kill one of them with a Thunderbolt, but that would leave everyone open to the other seven Fearow. Obviously the Fearow wanted to avoid an unnecessary death if possible.

"Dey say dey're gonna blow us away an strwike when dey see an opening, or if Pikachu attacks" Meowth translated the mumbled squawks of the flock. It suddenly became silent; all the Fearow now stared at their prey. Pikachu was quickly realizing that bluffing was useless now. Sparks no longer crackled from the crimson cheeks; Pikachu was saving power for the final blow. Charging up a Thunder attack would take too long, and by the time it was executed they would all be dead.

There was no way that Pikachu could kill them all, but at least one would die in the process. The Fearow began to flap their wings; a strong breeze began to pick up. Pikachu tried to remain unmoved as gales of dirt washed over its body. If for any second Pikachu tried to cover its eyes or block, it would be open to an attack. The basket behind them tipped over, everyone yelled as they rolled out of the confines of their tiny shelter. Ash hadn't moved the entire time, his body paralyzed with fear.

Pikachu's eyes began to burn; refusing to blink for fear of giving any opportunity to the Fearow. A well-placed speck of dust was all it took to make Pikachu screech as its paws flew up its eye to rub it out. The Fearow dove for the kill, now nothing stood in their way. Ash closed his eyes; both he and Pikachu knew they were goners.

All the Fearow squawked in pain, their voices still far from what Ash could hear. Ash opened his eyes again; Pikachu, him, and everyone else were now encased in a house of what appeared to be glass. Dozens of rectangular translucent panels of glass boxed them in from all sides. Some of the panels were cracked where the Fearow collided.

The Fearow were shocked at this new predicament. Ash looked at Pikachu who was equally surprised as he was. The others peeked out from behind the overturned basket. It happened so quickly that Ash wasn't able to catch it all at first. A dark blue trident horn pierced through the heart of one Fearow. To orange beams of energy enveloped a Fearow each. A stream of water punched a hole through the body of another.

One Fearow's body began to emanate a purple aura and within seconds, its neck twisted all the way around with a sickening crack and snap. Pikachu took the liberty of entering the fray and firing greatly promised Thunderbolt through a gap the glass house, frying the Fearow instantly and setting it aflame. A dark purple orb flew through the air, splattering on a Fearow. The Fearow screeched as the orb oozed over its body, a sizzling sound reached Ash's ears as he watched steam leave the ooze that quickly ate away at the Fearow's feathers, flesh, muscle, bones, and organs. The melting Fearow landed with a sickening splat on the floor, it no longer made any sounds or movements with its bleached white ribs displayed in the open air. The eighth and last Fearow flew away as fast as it could. The glass house around them shattered into nonexistence.

"Are you guys okay?"

Everyone recognized the voice with the exception of Dawn. Ash remained frozen as a hand reached over to him so to help him up. He hesitated for a second before taking it and standing on his feet. Tracy patted his shoulder, knocking some of the dust off his shirt.

"Tracy?" Ash said in disbelief; staring back at him he noticed that there were big changes. Tracy's face was caked in mud and smudges of black smears that Ash guessed was coagulated blood. His shirt and pants were torn to shreds, and his hair was a mess along with the now darker headband with the same smudges as his face.

His eyes were fatigued, the bags beneath them proved he hadn't slept for a few days. Small cuts were all over his dirtied arms and face, some others could be seen through the gaps in his clothes. His right hand was holding a lead pipe tightly in its grasp. His knuckle was white and Tracy didn't seem to look like he was ever going to let go of the pipe. The pipe itself was covered in dents, scratches, and smudges of blackened blood. Tracy had remained silent, staring past Ash's shoulder, over to the basket.

His gaze turned fierce and full of hate, knocking Ash to the ground as he charged over to the basket. He bellowed a war cry as he jumped into the air, his sights aimed at someone in the basket. Dawn screamed; Brock braced himself for a blow, while Team Rocket cowered, unable to run at the time. The clang of steel on steel ringed in everyone's ears. Dawn opened her eyes to see Pikachu's Iron Tail locked with Tracy's pipe.

They remained in a stalemate for a few seconds before a quick swipe from Pikachu's tail knocked the pipe out of Tracy's hands and sent it whirling into the grass and bushes. Pikachu landed, its cheeks sparking in warning with its back towards Team Rocket.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Brock barked, Tracy's face still full of hate.

"Why are you defending them? They're Team Rocket!" Tracy growled.

"We made a truce with them, they're with us for now" Ash explained, getting up from the ground again. Tracy turned to them, his eyes cold as ice and seemingly staring into their very souls.

"Is this true? IS IT!" Tracy roared.

Team Rocket flinched and nodded rapidly in unison, whimpering in fear.

Tracy continued to stare at them, and nodded with a grunt, walking over to the lead pipe he had dropped. He bent down and grabbed it, his menacing stare breaking contact with Team Rocket for only a moment, letting the three of the sigh with relief. Tracy's gaze snapped towards them as soon as he held the pipe firmly in his hands again, they flinched again and gulped.

"I accept that you are here…for now. But if I see that you do anything that I don't like, I swear I'll kill you, is that clear?" The three nodded violently as Tracy concluded and began walking towards Ash. Brock helped Dawn out of the basket, carrying her over to where Ash and Tracy were, Team Rocket slowly crawling behind them.

Ash watched in amazement at the sight before him, friends that he had forgotten about in the past few days since all this insanity had happened. Heracross shook its head until the skewered body of the Fearow was flung off. Snorlax fell onto his back, falling asleep instantly. Kingler cried out happily that its trainer was safe and sound, while Croconaw danced in a circle.

Mr. Mime bowed before Ash and that's when Ash saw it, or better yet, smelled it. A large mountain of gunk flew at him, smothering Ash entirely in an embrace. Mr. Mime worked quickly and created a rectangular barrier to stop Muk's charge. Muk's body slammed into the barrier, Ash's outline clearly visible from the other side. Muk slowly oozed off Ash, reforming once more at his feet and staring at Ash, the whites of his eyes showing. Ash had been smart to not open his mouth to yell unless he wanted a part of Muk in his mouth.

Muk proceeded to peel Ash off the barrier, his body as flat as a pancake. Once Muk had done so, it continued to hug Ash until it fell over and smothered him all over the ground. Dawn watched as the outline of limbs began to stretch through Muk's body, Ash muffled voice could be heard. Dawn was actually worried that Ash's very own Pokémon would suffocate him, she stared at Brock, with a look that implied whether or not they should help Ash. Brock shook his head and smiled back at her. Muk eventually got the message and oozed off Ash, who was gasping for breath.

"_I thought I was gonna die, he smells worse now. I didn't think that was even physically possible. I've been away from him so long that I'm no longer used to his stench, but he smells even worse than I remember. The dampeners being turned off couldn't possibly have made him smell worse, could it? Oh god, I can almost taste it! Even breathing through my mouth is nasty, I wanna barf, and I feel sick and dizzy_."

"Tracy went over and extended a hand, helping Ash onto his feet once more.

"Sorry for pushing you down like that, are you okay? You look like you're gonna throw up."

"I'm fine" Ash wheezed and coughed, almost limping drunkenly in the direction of Brock and Dawn.

"Thanks to your Pokémon I've been able to form something like a resistance against the Fearow. The rest of your Pokémon are protecting Oak's laboratory. Your Pokémon recognized your scent, they all wanted to go but I had to split them up.

We've lost a lot of good Pokémon and people. It's only thanks to your great Pokémon that at least some of them survived. We have to go, we didn't kill all the Fearow and the last one will obviously tell the leader of the flock. They'll be coming back to attack us with stronger forces. We should hurry."

Tracy turned and broke into a run, leaving Ash with questions unanswered. Ash was shocked; Tracy was so different from what he used to be, had these past few days changed him that much? The other Pokémon began to run as well, Kingler taking the opportunity of carrying Brock, Pikachu, and Dawn on its back. Snorlax awoke from its nap at the sound of their leaving and ran faster than Tracy and Kingler. At first it didn't come to Ash, but when he saw the dancing Croconaw he realized his Totodile had evolved. Mr. Mine also began to run, with Muk in pursuit, when suddenly, Muk stopped, turning towards Ash with a smile, or at least what Ash perceived to be a smile.

"No, no, no, no, no, get away from me Muk, I'm warning you, I- ahh!"

Muk went over and grabbed Ash who had been slowly backing away, placing him on top of his mucky head and moving with incredible speed. Team Rocket took the liberty of riding on Muk as well. Though greatly appreciated, Ash couldn't help but wonder whether or not the stink was worth the speed. Dawn and Brock covered their noses as Ash pulled up next to them. Up ahead, Snorlax had picked up Tracy who was now riding atop Snorlax's head, Muk easily catching up with them.

"Tracy, I want to talk with you. I want to know about Pallet Town, is my mom okay? How are my Pokémon and Professor Oak?" Ash yelled.

Tracy seemed oblivious to Ash's very existence, refusing to even glance in Ash direction. It was as if he hadn't seen Muk pull up next to them.

"_Can he not hear me or something? Why is he ignoring me_?" Ash thought. He looked at Tracy's face, his brow creased in worry.

"_He seems, worried, I don't think he wants to tell me, could it be that bad?_"

"Muk" the poison sludge Pokémon mumbled as Oak's laboratory came into view. Ash's range of vision widened to incorporate the entire town, left in ruins and shambles. Neighboring houses were merely mounds of rubble. Ash's heart sank, the worst of his fears had been realized, his hometown was destroyed.

It was like he was seeing two pictures at the same time, the before and after. The places that he once thought he knew so well were now barely identifiable. There were no people on the streets, not that he expected there to be any. He slid off Muk, as did Team Rocket who had pinched their noses the entire ride. Everyone else reached the entrance to Oak's house as soon after he had dismounted Muk, Tracy heading inside the building immediately.

All the other Pokémon let themselves in with the rest of them following. Mr. Mime closed the door behind them, turning, shifting, and inserting many different kinds of locks on the door. Ash hadn't noticed it yet but the door had been pretty roughed up. Brock carried Dawn over to the green couch in the center of the first floor. Ash looked around, papers scattered all over the floor, the desks, and the computers. There were some papers on the couch as well that Brock had been nice enough to move without messing the order that they were in.

"Megan, Megan!" the Pokémon cried out, charging at Ash without a second thought. Mr. Mime quickly put up a barrier in between Ash and the charging Pokémon. The barrier smashed but it softened the bone-crushing blow that Ash would've received. Ash's body slammed into the wall, his body sliding downwards slowly before two vines came and picked him up.

He was a bit dazed, unable to clearly distinguish the Pokémon that had just tackled him. The vines lifted him onto his feet; Ash was getting better at distinguishing features as he broke out of the daze. The Pokémon's face looked worried that she had hurt him, he wasn't too badly hurt, just a bit sore, so he did his best to smile. It didn't look like a Pokémon that he owned once he got a clear look at it. A pink flower blossomed from the base of the Pokémon's neck. Its entire body was a light green with the exception of two yellow antennas on the top of the Pokémon's elongated head.

"Wow, a Meganiam" Brock commented with interest. That last tackle must of hit him hard because Ash was unable to put two and two together.

"Yeah, most of your Pokémon evolved fighting off the Fearow" Tracy explained, quickly returning to a room. Ash looked and saw as Crawdaunt, Quilava, Donphan, Ivysaur, Noctowl, Glalie, Torkoal, Swellow, Tauros, and Sceptile came up to him.

They each cried out a greeting, each smothering Ash in their embrace before finishing. Most of them had evolved at least a level higher and seemed a little stronger than when he left them. Whether it was the lack of dampener, or that they had been fighting for their lives and winning, Ash would have to ask later.

"Hey guys, nice to see you again, let me introduce you to our new friends" Ash said, releasing all of his Pokémon. Turtwig, Chimchar, Buizel, Staravia, and Gliscor. Ash watched his Pokémon mingle with each other. Ash looked around, noticing that a Scizor was resting in the corner. A Venomoth was hovering around the computers; Marill was nowhere to be seen. As Ash looked around more closely, he noticed that there was only five of his Tauros.

"I never knew that Ash had so many Pokémon" Dawn remarked, looking all around in awe.

"Dawn, maybe it would be a good idea to let your Pokémon out as well" Brock suggested, releasing his own Pokémon. Dawn nodded and did the same from the confines of her couch. Tracy came out once more, Ash stopping him to get a chance to talk with him.

"Tracy, where are the rest of my Tauros? I only see five of them here."

Tracy paused; he began walking downstairs towards the couch where Dawn was resting. He stopped on the last step, sitting down, getting the attention of everyone in the room.

"I hate to tell you Ash, but the thirty Tauros you captured have been dwindled down to five. It was the Fearow, it was only a few days ago that they attacked; they came out of nowhere. Oak and me were trying to assess what was wrong with the Pokémon since they all started going crazy, for only a few minutes. After a few hours, that's when they attacked. They attacked the homes filled with people before hitting Oak ranch, we tried to get as many survivors in as we possibly could, and we lost many in the process. Every day they bombard the house with Gusts, Tackles, and Drill pecks.

The Pokémon go out to ward them off until they get scared and run away, or they see that they need reinforcements. There's usually at least one Fearow that stays out of reach from our attacks, leaving to alert the others whether or not they should come to attack tomorrow or not. Azumarill is out there using her internal radar for when they come back to attack. The good thing is that the Fearow only attack during the day, never at night. Communications went down for some reason and I can't make any contact with anyone else out there. I haven't slept much these past few days; I've been working on a way to get all of these Pokémon out of here. We can't stay here any longer, it probably doesn't look like it, but this place isn't gonna last another assault.

I have no idea whether or not we're even making a dent in the flock of Fearow. I don't know how many there are in total but each Pokémon here has at least killed a dozen, which is why they've evolved. I myself have killed about five with my bare hands, or actually this pipe to be more accurate. Those Fearow, they're monsters. I watched them skeletize your Tauros in twelve seconds. For some reason they've taken a sudden liking to meat." Tracy sighed in exhaustion before getting up and heading up back the stairs. Ash ran after him, stopping in front of him and blocking his path.

"Tracy, there's still some things I need to ask you" Ash said, his arms stretched out to block his sides.

Tracy looked away, "Ash, I have a lot of work to do right now, I'll answer your questions later, okay?"

"No, Tracy. You're gonna answer my questions now!" Ash ordered, holding his ground.

Tracy's expression turned into a glare, shoving past Ash's arm barricade and heading to the second floor.

"I don't have time for this!" he barked, walking swiftly into a room and slamming the door, they could all hear it lock from the inside.

The suspense was torturing Ash, not knowing whether or not his mother was alive, he ran after Tracy, stopping at the door and banging on it.

"Tracy, let me in!" Ash yelled, beating his fists on the wooden door.

"Ash, stop that right now! I've got someone wounded here that needs my help. You can't come in, you'll just get in the way."

"I've been to a hospital before, so has Brock, we can help" Ash countered.

"Have you directly treated a person?" Tracy said calmly.

Ash remained silent.

"Ash, I'm working on someone in critical condition here, I don't think that you'd want to see this. I have to go, don't bother me while I'm here, and don't go to any of the other rooms either. If the Pokémon get hungry you should be able to find some Pokémon food, they still eat that. And again Ash, don't bother me while I'm in here, the less I'm distracted, the faster I can finish in here. I'll be out in a few hours. Keep an eye on Team Rocket."

That would be the last time that Tracy would talk until hours later. Ash's shoulders sunk in defeat as he sulked all the way down the stairs. Pikachu had taken residence on the couch at the end of Dawn's feet. Once again, Pikachu refused to look at Ash; the fact that Ash had looked at it like a monster had really hurt its feelings. Brock looked around, thinking about whether or not to tidy up the place, but afraid to move anything that might've been in a specific order.

Ash looked over the papers, noticing that they weren't sketches. They were blueprints of something that Ash couldn't really decipher. Each page seemed to hold a different picture, surrounded by hundreds of different mathematical equations. Ash's eyes scanned from one picture to the next, trying to connect the various papers together. He put one on top of the other, noticing that once the pictures overlapped, they began to form something.

"That Tracy guy seems like a real jerk" Dawn pouted. Ash put the papers down where he found them, heading over to her.

"He's not such a bad guy, he's changed though. All this stuff that's happened has changed us in some way."

"Some of us in more ways than others. Try looking at it this way, Dawn. Tracy hasn't been sleeping in three days, he's had to kill Pokémon himself, and he's been trying to care for all the Pokémon here and the wounded people," Brock added.

"He used to be a really nice guy, he loved doing sketches of Pokémon, and he was really talented. That's why the Professor picked him as his assistant; Oak does Pokémon sketches t-"

Ash had yet to see Oak anywhere in the building! Was he one of the people hurt, could his mom also be there, could she be in critical condition? Was that why Tracy didn't want him to see his mom yet? Ash shuddered at the thought of his mom covered in blood.

Tracy must be working on her right now, trying to save her life. On one side, Ash was relieved that Tracy could be helping his mom; on the other side he was worried that she was wounded. Would she be all right afterwards? Would she look different? He wanted a direct answer, but no one but Tracy could give it to him, and even he was refusing to tell him. Ash quickly looked around to distract himself, the more he thought about this the more restless he became.

* * *

Everyone heard the door squeak open from the second floor after a few hours had passed. Tracy had left the room; he looked spent, almost stumbling over the steps. Dawn moved to give Tracy some room as he collapsed onto the couch.

"I'm just taking a little break for now, I'll have to go in a few minutes to continue" he sighed. "But until then, I want to know what happened to you guys, how much do you know, if anything at all. The Professor and me were pretty much blind in the dark."

Ash, Brock, and Dawn each explained what they had learned, often interrupting the other in case they had forgotten something. It took them ten minutes to relay the entire ordeal to him. Tracy nodded at the end, there were moments that shocked him and intrigued him during the telling.

"That still doesn't explain why no one is able to make any communications. The Professor and me thought that this was all probably caused by Team Ro- where are they? Have you been watching them?" Tracy growled.

Ash winced; he had completely forgotten to keep an eye on them. Now that he looked around, they were nowhere to me found.

"I know where they are," Tracy snarled, grabbing his lead pipe and heading off. Brock and Ash went after him, but stopped, turning around to see Dawn walking over to them. She walked with a limp, but nonetheless she was walking.

"What? You guys look like you've never seen a girl walk before" She smiled.

"Dawn, maybe it's better if you lay down" Brock advised.

"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt to walk, as long as I don't have to run or do anything really tiring then I'll be fine. I mean, by now you guys must be tired of carrying me, I can walk on my own now, so don't worry."

"When you say that, it just makes us worry more" Brock and Ash sighed in unison. The three nodded, moving as fast as they could in pursuit of Tracy. They found Tracy standing before an open vault, his body quivering with rage. The vault of Pokémon was empty. The aisles of shelves stocked with pokeballs were now laid bare.

* * *

Meowth, Jessie, and James ran as fast as they could, each carrying a bag full of pokeballs. Meowth and James had managed to pick the locks of the vault after several hours of work. No one had bothered to check up on them while they worked and stole. They stopped to rest after running what seemed like a mile, giving themselves time to think.

"Jessie, is this right?" James asked, his breaths shallow.

"What do you mean, James?" she replied incredulously.

"I mean, is this the way that we repay them for saving our lives?"

"I gotta agree, dey coulda let us go back at da cruise ship, an we coulda been swimin wit da fishes. Dey had no reason ta save us, dey had da perfect chance ta let us die" Meowth confessed.

"Oh come on, we're Team Rocket, we're supposed to be heartless and conniving, that's why we've been doing this for so long."

"Didja eva wonda dat maybe dis isn what we're good at?" Meowth let the bag of pokeballs drop to the floor, so did James.

"You…the both of you, you're just wimps, if you're not going to do this, then I'll take the Pokémon all back myself and give to the boss, and I'll get the reward." Jessie went over and snatched the two bags that her former comrades had dropped. She hefted all three over her shoulder, her shaking knees made it clear that the weight was too much for her. She began to walk away slowly, her back towards them as they talked.

"You know, I been thinking, and all this stuff that's happening has really made me decide on what my priorities are. I ignored our losses at first, but there's only so much I can take."

"I don't care James, I'm giving these Pokémon to the boss and he's going to be overjoyed."

"Didja eva notice dat the boss hates us. Wheder we succeeded or not, he would still hate us."

"You know, in the end, we're trying to make a man who hates us happy. Did you ever ask yourself, what happens after? Would we really get everything we dreamed of, or would we just get a pat on the back and be expected to do better the next time. He doesn't care about us."

"In truth, da measly Pokémon dat we try an get for da boss, all the ideas I made so that dey would be useful for him, I kinda knew in da back of my head, dat dey would neva work."

"We believed so much that we could please this one person so much, that anything would do. And in reality, would it? I had my doubts, but my belief and optimism always outweighed that, no matter how much we failed. We went through so many hardships because of this. But at the end of it all, I feel now all of this is kind of sad."

Jessie fell to her knees; all three bags dropped to the ground, her hands were busy trying to capture the tears that fell from her eyes.

"I know we're pathetic, I know that. I know that he hates us, and that nothing we bring him will make up for our losses. I know that he doesn't care about us."

She stopped once the hands touched her shoulders; she remained frozen, as were her tears.

"Jessie, we care. We've always cared for each other. That's why we've stuck together no matter how hard it got."

"Jessie, I know how you feel, you guys are da closest ting I've got to a family. I wouldn trade da world for dis."

James bent down until he was I level with her, not expecting her arms to wrap around him and Meowth and give them a hug. Meowth and James both smiled to each other, patting her on the back while she sobbed.

"What are we going to do now? They'll never take us back now, especially that twerp with the lead pipe" Jessie asked through a choked sob.

"Would could just drop off the pokeballs and hope for the best. I feel like whenever we did something right, it felt good. When we managed to pull off a scheme I felt good, proud that we had succeeded, but then we would blast off again and I'd be disappointed. I can't remember the last time I truly expected our schemes to succeed. But when we did something good, even if we blasted off, I wasn't disappointed at all. Maybe we're better good guys than we were bad."

"We could make a deal wit dem, I can translate whateva a Pokémon says as long as I'm wit you guys" Meowth offered.

"In a way, we need them. We have no air balloon or any other transport to get out of here. I think it's needless to say that our Pokémon are no match for these Pokémon. That little twerp has an army back there; we'd be safer with him. We can't even call command to have them help us in any way, not that the mechs that they send could last against these super Pokémon."

"I guess you're right, James." Jessie said, both of them helping her to her feet.

"Here, your makeup is smeared" James said, handing her a towel. She wiped her face down, and reapplied her lipstick and eye shadow.

"Jessie, not dat we're in a rush, but could we do dis later, there's still Pokémon dat come out at night."

They flinched at the thought, picked up the bags and headed back towards Oak's house.

* * *

**Coming soon. Chapter 9: Of a Feather.**


	8. Buried Bonds

Ash felt utterly betrayed, he should've known they would've done this; this was his fault. Because of him, Team Rocket had stolen all the Pokémon in pokeballs inside the vault. Upon closer inspection, it had taken a few hours to break open the vault silently.

That very fact made Ash feel even worse. How could he have let them get away with this for an hour? He would hunt them down if he needed to. Tracy was outraged, he didn't know whether to yell at Ash, break everything around him, or go searching for Team Rocket himself.

"Tracy, I'm…I'm sorry. You can hit me if you want" Ash offered.

There was a knock on the door, making everyone jump. The simple gesture of knocking on the door seemed incredible to them. The only things out there were Fearow, and they couldn't knock. The only other option that they thought was possible was that there was someone out there that had survived the onslaught Brock walked over to the door, peering though the little hole in silence.

"Brock, who's there?" Dawn asked, but Brock didn't answer as he opened the door. He moved out of the way, letting in two people and one Pokémon. The three of them carried three bags over their shoulders.

Each of them placed the bag on the floor at the base of their feet. They got down to their knees, bowing their heads in forgiveness. Jessie, and James no longer wore the white suits with the Team Rocket insignia. Instead, they had picked to wear variations of their previous disguises.

"We couldn't do it, we couldn't go through with stealing the Pokémon. We owe you our lives from back on the cruise ship" James explained.

Ash was knocked to the ground as Tracy charged towards them, his pipe in full swing.

"Tracy, NO!" Ash, Dawn, and Brock yelled. So many things happened at once, Ash couldn't see how it happened, but saw what the end result was. Pikachu's tail had once again locked onto Tracy's pipe. A barrier had appeared behind Pikachu, while a lower section of the pipe was also locked in contest with Sceptile's leaf blade at minimum strength.

Vine whips of Ivysaur and Meganium restrained Tracy's ankles and wrists. Tracy grunted against the constraints, trying to vent his anger out on them. They stood at a standstill for almost a minute before he relented. The look on Team Rocket's faces were different from what Ash had expected: indifference.

"Why did you change your outfits?" Brock asked calmly by the door, slowly closing it and proceeding with the locking process.

"We've decided to leave Team Rocket and join you, our Pokémon are at your disposal" Jessie added.

"How do we know that this isn't a trick?" Dawn asked.

"You can search us if you like, we have nothing to use against you, we're cut off from our organization, and…"

Jessie and James pulled out their pokeballs and laid them on the ground in front of them.

"-You can take our Pokémon, except for Meowth. Meowth is his own Pokémon, we don't own him, and his allegiances lie with whomever he wants to."

"How do we know you won't run off to your organization once you get a chance?" Ash countered.

"Da boss of our organization hates us, we've taught about it, an der's really no point in stayin wit dem" Meowth replied.

Brock, Dawn, and Ash looked at each other, considering the proposal for a moment. Ash's Pokémon had backed away from Tracy once they were sure that he would not attack.

"I swore to you that if you did anything that I didn't like, I would kill you."

Tracy's angry expression turned to one of pain, he said nothing, taking all three bags and dragging them over to the vault. The fighting of the past few days had made Tracy noticeably stronger as he moved all three bag with ease, his newly acquired biceps bulging.

"I guess that means that you can stay" Brock said, walking past the groveling forms of the former Team Rocket.

* * *

The next couple of hours went by as usual, Tracy decided to take a small nap. He had taken small winks of sleep of at least an hour or two during the previous days. Dawn had fallen asleep as well in a sleeping bag, while Tracy slept on the couch.

Jessie, James, and Meowth, had slept wherever they dropped on the floor. Dawn's, Brock's, Ash's, Tracy's, Jessie's, and James's Pokémon had mingled and taken shifts on watch. Ash, and Brock had volunteered to stay up and watch for a while until Tracy woke up.

Pikachu had fallen asleep after eating some of the Pokémon food. With so many Pokémon, Ash was afraid that the Pokémon food would quickly run out, but considering that Oak kept a ranch full of Pokémon was enough to ease Ash's worries when Tracy explained it to him. They leaned against the wall in silence, as did all the Pokémon that were up. No one looked at each other, you could never be too careful, despite the fact that Fearow didn't attack at night. Tracy's Marill, which had apparently evolved into an Azumarill hadn't come back yet.

It was a great risk for Azumarill to be to out there; you never knew what kind of dangers lurked in the darkness. Tracy had told them that Azumarill would knock in a certain pattern so that they would let it through. Azumarill came back to Oak's house only four times a day. Three were to get its meals, and the fourth was to get a few hours of sleep before it went back on reconnaissance.

The Fearow didn't exactly attack at a certain time, but Tracy had noticed that they only attacked during the morning. The lights had been turned off, casting a veil of shadows over everything. The only light came from the pale glow of the moon outside; its sliver glow flowed through the window, making Ash flinch every time he saw a darting shadow.

Brock remained calm, making no intension to calm Ash down. Ash could hear something mumbled from the room upstairs. He looked up, seeing that one of the doors was slightly open. He moved away from the wall, heading in the general direction of the stairs. A hand flew out of the darkness, grabbing him by the collar, jerking him back.

"Ash, where are you going?" Brock whispered.

Ash didn't want to lie to Brock; no valid excuses came to him to say anyway.

"I have to see what's in there, just a peek and I'll come right down."

Brock loosened his grip slightly, hesitating; Ash took the pause to move out of Brock's reach, already staring up the stairs. Ash moved carefully, being careful not to fall on the edge of a step. His movements were masked by the sounds of ex-Team Rocket's snores. Once he had reached the top, he looked in the general direction where Tracy slept.

He made a mental sigh of relief, no movement behind the drapes of darkness. Ash moved to the entrance of the door, feeling Brock's stare bore through him. The door was ajar; Ash peered through the crack, and the interior of the room giving him no clues as to what he wanted. He could here Brock's whisper hiss from the first floor as he entered the room as quietly as he could.

"_Sorry Brock, I have to do this, I've gotta know_" Ash thought to himself.

Luckily the door didn't squeak like he expected it to, nor did any light filter through the crack. The room was a lot brighter from across the room than the outside was. The room was small, smaller than Ash had expected it to be, then again, he had never been in this room before. Ash had never fully explored Oak's facility, there was probably another room linked to this one with another patent. There was one bed, the outline of a person still in it. The person was connected to various pieces of equipment; the rising and falling of the sheets made Ash think the person was asleep.

"Hello" the voice happily croaked, making Ash jump back, his heart racing like crazy. The sudden break in silence had startled him, after a few seconds, Ash felt as if he recognized the voice. The person's head was on the pillow; the only way the man could know that he was there would have to be if he had heard him.

Ash rushed over to the side of the bed, seeing the man that had given him Pikachu and helped him start his journey.

The professor looked older than he was before Ash had last seen him; there were more wrinkles.

"Professor, it's me! Ash, Ash Ketchum." Ash whispered frantically.

Oak was silent for a moment, his face expressionless, like he was contemplating the words. Finally, he reacted and smiled at Ash, recognizing the individual before him.

"Ash, I'm glad I could get to see you, I wanted Tracy to send you before I…well that's not important now. Ash, there are a few things that I need you to do, could you do me that favor?"

"Anything Professor" Ash replied instantly, giving no thought or hesitation to what it might be.

"That's my boy. I want you to take three pokeballs to my grandson Gary, Tracy will know which ones; just tell him they are mine. Can you find him and do that?"

Ash didn't know if that was possible, whether his old rival was still alive, but regardless he nodded.

"If he isn't alive…then you shall inherit them," Oak said, as if reading Ash's thoughts. "Ash, I'm so sorry about your mother, Tracy was wondering when it would be the best time to tell you. She was a beautiful woman, she was the one who led me here to Pallet Town."

Ash felt as though something inside him had died, there was no way now to escape the fact that his mother was now dead.

"I know this is hard for you, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but I want you to know something else."

Ash was numb to the words, replaying them over and over in his head until he understood them.

"What is it Professor?" His voice dead and monotone.

The professor's brow furrowed but he continued.

"I never told you, but from the moment that I met you, you were one of the reasons that I wanted to become a Pokémon Professor."

Ash stared back at him quizzically, unsure whether he had heard Oak correctly.

"Professor, I…I don't understand, what are you talking about? I don't get it?"

"Ash, have you ever seen a Celebi?"

The question had caught Ash off guard, unable to connect the two subjects to what was happening now.

"How does this have to do with anything?" Ash asked after thinking about it thoroughly.

"Answer the question, Ash" Oak replied calmly.

Ash sighed, thinking back and finding that event in his bank of memories.

"Yeah, I've seen one."

"Brock and Misty were with you back then, weren't they?"

"Yeah."

"There was another person that was with you when you saw a Celebi, it was a young man."

Ash froze, "_How could he know that? I never told him about that, neither has Brock or Misty, that I know of_."

"Ash, that boy wasn't from this time, Celebi had brought him to this time on accident from the past."

"Professor, how do you know all of this, I never told you, did anyone else tell you?"

Oak shook his head, "No Ash, no one ever told me, I was there Ash. I was that boy."

Oak paused to let Ash absorb it, let it sink in. Ash was astounded, he couldn't believe what he had just heard, but Oak had no reason to lie to him.

"My name is Samuel Oak, everyone called me Sam or Sammy when I was younger. Meeting you turned my world around, Ash. Once I had become a professor; I searched the world for a Pikachu. I caught many, finding one that refused to stay in its pokeball. It was difficult to put it into a pokeball and bring it to you, but didn't want to disrupt the fabric of time. I searched and searched for you afterwards, realizing that you hadn't been born yet. So I followed your mother, the name Ketchum had led me to Pallet Town. I waited until one day that you would become old enough and come to take Pikachu.

I had made calls to the houses of some parents with children that were starting their journeys so that they would come earlier and take the starter Pokémon, leaving you with your destined friend as your only option. It was wonderful to watch you grow, I knew up to a certain point that you would be a great trainer from what I had seen as a child. But as you grew past that point it became one surprise after another and I became so proud of you. It's a shame that this was kept secret for so long, but I always knew that you were destined for great things."

Ash couldn't hold back the tears now; Oak seemed to be at his limit as well. Blood began to pool beneath his bandages wrapped around his waist.

Ash took notice quickly, "Professor, you're bleeding! I'll go get Tracy!"

"No Ash, don't. It's too late for me now. No matter how many times he changes my bandages, it will change nothing. It is my time, I regret nothing, and I was glad I was able to see you one last time…my friend…my boy…"

Ash had been holding Oak's wrinkled hand to his wet face; he felt it drop. It was so much for Ash to take in such a short time. His mother had died, the man that he had almost considered the closest thing to a grandfather had died as well. Oak had gone through the trouble to find Pikachu for him, and now they weren't on the best of terms. Part of him no longer wanted to know this; the other half of him reminded him that this was what he had wanted.

He stayed there for a while, hearing the constant high-pitched whine of the machines around him, a somber reminder that Oak's life signs had flat-lined. This new world was unforgiving and would show no mercy to him.

As Ash exited the room, he noticed that everyone downstairs was now awake and looking at him. His eyes averted their gazes, doing his best to ignore them as he walked down the stairs.

"Is he…dead?" Tracy asked. Ash nodded, Tracy fell back onto the couch, with his head in his hands.

"When were you planning to tell me that my mother was killed by the Fearow? I thought that you said there you had managed to take some survivors." Ash spat coldly, venom laced in his words. His tone sacred Dawn, shocked Brock, and all of Ash's Pokémon.

"I never said that the survivors were human, and I didn't know if this was the best time to tell you about your mother. There were no survivors, not a single damned one. I watched every last person in Pallet Town die before my very eyes, torn to shreds by the Fearow. Oak wanted to live long enough to see you one last time; his wounds were too severe to heal from. I thought he was crazy to expect you to come from across the continents…but here you are. When I told him the news, I thought he would've survived the night. I had planned to have you guys talk in the morning."

Ash walked away, kicking the back door of the facility, leading into Oak's ranch; Tracy made no attempt to stop him. Brock, some of Ash's Pokémon, and Dawn followed him, while Tracy sobbed over the death of his mentor, his friend. The ex-Team Rocket members watching in silence.

* * *

The grass outside had been burned away, leaving a desert of ash. Craters checkered the landscape as far as they could see, dirt uprooted wherever a cavity was. Flimsy sections of fences still stood feebly, threatening to topple from the slightest of breezes.

Ash walked slowly through the ashen haze, small tufts of dust kicked up with every step he took. The scattered skeletal remains of Tauros glowed through the opaque grayness. Most of the bones had been crushed and pulverized; Ash would've never thought that the very air that he was breathing had traces of his Tauros.

Their bleached white skulls remained intact, staring at anyone who gazed into those hollow sockets. Ash had walked through the middle of the field before he began to kick the dirt around him, flinging his arms in every direction, screaming in fury. He fell to his knees, cried, beating the earth with his fists.

Clouds of ash infiltrated his nostrils, his eyes, and his mouth. He spat, rubbed his irritated eyes, he was in so much pain he was unable to make sounds anymore. Dawn wanted to go over to him, hug him at least until he calmed down, Brock stopped her, shaking his head. "It's better he let's it all out first, I'll talk to him later."

It took another hour until Ash wobbled back; he didn't enter but sat a few feet from the door with his back to it. Brock came, placing his hand on Ash's shoulder; Ash shrugged it off. Ash's head was buried in his arms; his chin nestled between his knees.

"Look, Ash. I know this is hard for you; I just want you to know…I'm here. Dawn is here too; her mom could be in danger. Ash, I could be in the same boat as you, my mom, and my dad, and all of my brothers and sisters could be…"

"There's nothing to talk about, go away," Ash mumbled from his position.

Brock stood there for a moment, no words of consolation or comfort came to him.

"…You probably need some time alone. Just remember, if you need anything, then we're here," Brock concluded, leaving soon after in defeat.

Ash felt pained, his emotional pain had manifested itself into physical pain. It was something like starvation, his stomach hurt even though he had eaten. He felt cold and slow, like his movements were delayed. His head hurt from the crying and his mind felt numb. His mind was blank most of the time, repeating something that he had thought of, but took a while to digest.

He shivered, goose bumps appearing over his arms; the night wasn't cold, if anything it was warm. The best way to describe it for himself was to have his entire body hollowed out and left to dry as a husk.

A pair of warm arms wrapped around him, he didn't bother to shrug them off. He recognized Dawn's scent as her hair flowed over him. He felt her warm heart beat against his back, noticing his own seemed quiet and weak.

"I'm sorry," She whispered into his ear, staying in that position for a while before leaving him. Once she had left he began to miss the warmth, her scent that he had begun to grow accustomed to. He couldn't call her back; his pride wouldn't let him. Part of him wanted everyone to pity him, feel sorry for him. His other half conflicted with that idea. He was never one to ask for pity, he had always viewed himself as a strong person. But what now?

* * *

Shuffling footsteps broke him out of his deep thought; he remained silent and still.

"Mime, Mr. Mime, Mime mime mime."

"Your mom, when she died, she wanted me ta be yer Pokémon, I promised ta serve you in any way I could. Yer mom was a wonderful person; I loved helpin her out. If ya need me ta fight, den I can do dat, I wanta avenge her death" Meowth translated.

Ash refused to talk, forcing Meowth and Mr. Mime to leave him alone once more.

The title of Pokémon master was now meaningless, these Pokémon were probably near impossible to capture and train.

Ash lifted his head from his arms and knees, seeing that Pikachu had been standing next to him the entire time. Pikachu hadn't even made a sound, Ash didn't know how long Pikachu had been there or when Pikachu had come. Could he have been in such deep thought that he hadn't noticed Pikachu? Pikachu didn't look at him, making Ash wonder why Pikachu was even there in the first place. Was Pikachu watching over him for protection, like his guardian? Even though he had hurt Pikachu, Pikachu continued to be there for him.

"Pikachu" Ash said tenderly, catching Pikachu off guard and getting him to look at Ash for what seemed the longest time.

"I want to say I'm sorry, it's taken me a while to get my thoughts straight, this is a lot to take in. I wasn't ready to handle the fact that you could kill. I'm actually kind of afraid of you, but I know that you would never hurt me on purpose, because you're my best friend. You're one of my biggest friends in the entire world, and sometimes I think I don't deserve you. But I'm glad you're here, and I think that it's time that I got used to this new world, and that includes getting used to you."

Pikachu's eyes glowed from the happiness of having Ash welcome him back again. Before Pikachu could leap into Ash's arms, there was a knock on the door. There was a rhythm to it, alerting everyone that it was Azumarill. Tracy dove for the door, he quickly undid all the locks and let Azumarill in.

Azumarill had come back earlier to sleep for a little while, it had been while Ash had been sulking. No one had expected Azumarill to come back until another several hours in which it would have breakfast. Azumarill was sweating and seemed out of breath, everyone now expecting the worst. Meowth quickly went over to translate, followed by Jessie and James.

Azumarill unloaded as much as it could to Meowth, every time he tried to translate something, Azumarill interrupted him with another tidbit of news. Other moments of silence were from Meowth just trying to let the news sink in and comprehend what had just happened. Once Azumarill had finished, and Meowth calmed down, he began to translate as clearly as he could. The suspense was killing everyone in the room.

"Our blue friend here got really close to duh nest of de Fearow. Dey say dat dey're attackin in de morning. You're not gonna like dis part. Dey're all comin, all of de adults, de entire flock dat can fight."

"How many is that?" Dawn asked, innocently.

"By Azumarill's count, one hundred and twenty eight."

Tracy went pale, his hand dropping the lead pipe, letting it clatter on the floor. The sounds made everyone wince at first, they watched as Tracy collapsed onto the couch.

"We've only fought thirty or so at a time, each day. Why would they send their entire flock?"

"Azu, Azu, Marill" the water rabbit cried, Meowth intently listened and translated.

"Azumarill says dat it knows de reason dat dey're all coming here to attack. When Azumarill was listening in on de conversation, der was a part in de explanation dat made the alpha Fearow freak out an decide to have everyone attack. De Fearow dat escaped us earlier, described us. De second dat de Fearow mentioned a kid wit a red cap and a Pikachu de alpha Fearow, an soma de others became furious."

Everyone instantly thought of Ash, wondering what had Ash done to piss off these Pokémon. It must've taken place before he had met them. Everyone, including all of Ash's Pokémon, minus Pikachu, rushed over to where Ash had refused to move from for an hour. To their dismay and surprise, the area was already empty.

Ash and Pikachu were gone.


	9. Pecking Order

"I just can't believe he's gone" Dawn sighed. Everyone had returned to the couch, Jessie, James, and Meowth were sitting on the floor. All their Pokémon were gathering around them.

"I didn't expect him to do this, but then again I can't say I'm too surprised that this happened" Brock mumbled.

"What do you mean, Brock?" Dawn inquired.

"Ash just lost his mother, and a person really dear to him, he was really hoping to come to his hometown being safe, only to find out that there were no survivors. He must feel like he's lost everything. I don't think he's thinking clearly."

"How can you be so calm, Brock?"

"I sure that Pikachu's with him." Brock replied easily.

"I don't know Brock. Ash and Pikachu were acting weird these past few hours. I noticed that him and Pikachu weren't looking at each other, like they were avoiding each other."

"Why would Pikachu leave with the twer-, I mean Ash, if they weren't on good terms?" James interjected.

"Pikachu and Ash have been really close ever since I met them?" Tracy pointed out.

"I think I can explain that" Brock offered. "I've seen what Pikachu can do personally, and to be honest, it scares me. I never considered Pikachu to be so deadly, I knew Pikachu was powerful in Pokémon battles, but with no more dampeners, Pikachu's a perfect little killing machine. Ash isn't used to this, the idea of Pikachu killing. Neither am I, but I'm learning how to deal with it. I'll have too, especially if I'm gonna be living in a world like this. In a way, I know how Ash feels in one aspect; he can no longer be a Pokémon master. In a sense, he still can, but not in the way that he originally wanted.

The Pokémon we have here may be our last Pokémon we'll ever have. I'm gonna have to give up my dream of becoming a Pokémon breeder. Me an Ash figured out early that capturing a Pokémon will no longer be the same. Before the dampeners were gone, when you caught a Pokémon, the Pokémon would listen to you, depending on your experience. If you catch a Pokémon now, it won't care and will try to kill you whether you have experience or not. The Pokémon is still wild, and I doubt that capturing it will make it tame like pokeballs used to do. So if capturing Pokémon doesn't tame them, how am I supposed to breed them?"

Everyone nodded, even the Pokémon; this made sense to them.

"Der could be anudda reason for him ta leave on top of all de others. He probably tinks dat der's no hope. I mean we're gonna be facing off a against ova a hundred Fearow an we only got thirty two in total, unless James is gonna sen his Mime, Jr. ta fight and Brock is willing to send Happiny." Meowth pointed out.

James and Brock shuddered at the thought of sending the baby Pokémon to fight. Tracy nodded, acknowledging that Meowth was right; the odds were not in their favor.

"Ash would never be a coward like that and leave, don't you dare say that about Ash. Maybe he went to go fight them with Pikachu, or…"

"If he did that, then he's as good as dead," Tracy sighed. Dawn was livid, walking over to him and slapping Tracy across the face.

"How can you say that like it's nothing?!" Dawn cried. Tracy was a little dazed from the blow, his hand reaching over to massage the stinging red hand mark on his face. Tracy considered hitting her back, but thought against it, the last thing he needed was to make an enemy within the team, they would be easy pickings for the Fearow if they were fighting amongst themselves.

"Ash, made his choice. We can't change that, all we can do is prepare for the Fearow." Tracy stood up and walked over to everyone's Pokémon who had huddled together around them. The Pokémon were watching him intently, they had been expecting Tracy to hit Dawn back, and they were prepared to defend her if he tried to do so. From the look that Tracy gave them, he knew what they would've done had he hit her back. Tracy stood in between both groups: humans and Pokémon.

"Alright, what can I tell you? The odds don't look good for us. We can run away, go as far as we can, but they'll find us and we can fight, or we can stay here and prepare for them to come to us, and we can fight. We have a hundred and twenty eight Fearow coming our way, and we only have thirty-two Pokémon at max that are _able_ to fight. Some of you are inexperienced and have not had any practice fighting Fearow. I can't promise that you will all survive this fight if we win. I can't promise that any of us will survive. We are outnumbered, and outmatched considering that most of the Pokémon here haven't had any experience fighting these undampenered Pokémon. I can't ask you to fight for me; I'm asking you to fight for your survival. The best chance we have is if we stay here, if you think you have a better plan, speak now." Tracy paused, staring at the dozens of eyes aimed at him. It was silent; no one made an attempt to speak up, letting Tracy continue.

"I can understand if some of you do not want to fight, I can understand if none of you want to fight. But fight _is_ coming to us, and we can't escape that fact. If you do not wish to fight you can stay in here while the others are fighting outside. I for one will be fighting alongside with the Pokémon outside, fighting the Fearow. It is also up to your trainers whether they allow you to fight or not. All of you are precious to them, and they would not like to lose you. For the Pokémon who belong to Ash, you can make the decision for yourselves. I will not hold you back no matter what decision you decide to make, even if it is to run away and try to follow Ash wherever he's gone to or to save your skins. Those of you, who do not want to fight but want to stay with their trainers, go over to them. Those of you, who want to fight outside with me, stay where you are. Those of you, who want to fight but want to protect the trainers in here, step backwards. And those of you, who wish to leave for whatever reason, the door is over there" Tracy pointed the door that led to Oak ranch, where Ash had abandoned them.

No Pokémon moved for the door, nor did any of them walk over to the human side over the imaginary line. The trainers made no comments on the decisions that their Pokémon had just made. Some Pokémon stepped back, others remained perfectly still, standing proud.

"Do you disagree with the choices of your Pokémon, trainers? Would you rather some of them not fight and stay to protect you, or not fight at all?"

The other trainers shook their heads; Tracy nodded in response, looking over to the Pokémon who all had stayed to fight.

"Alright then, I will assign groups. May Arceus protect you and give you strength, and may god help us all."

* * *

Tracy was sweating; he had been standing outside in the blazing heat for an hour or two. Some of the other Pokémon were sweating; others hadn't even broken into one yet. Tracy held the led pipe firmly in his hands, looking at Sceptile, Ivysaur, and Meganium. Each of them was able to do solar beam in one shot considering it was a sunny day today.

In total honesty, Tracy wasn't sure that they would be any held against the Fearow, seeing as plants were easily defeated by flying types. Maybe because of no longer having dampeners, old weaknesses were irrelevant, but Tracy hadn't looked closely into it to find out whether there was a change or not. Scizor stood silently beside him, his arms crossed.

Donphan dragged the dirt behind him, ready to roll on a seconds notice. Another Tauros did the same, Kingler and Crawdaunt clicking their claws in anticipation. Staravia, Noctowl, Gliscor, and Swellow circled overhead, watching intently and switching to look in every direction from where the Fearow could appear. Azumarill, Glalie, and Buizel, stood silently, slightly annoyed that Croconaw was dancing happily next to them.

Chimchar, Torkoal, and Quilava had their flames ready; they had managed to keep a strong flame for over an hour. It was a stunning feat; they had yet to let their guard down. Venomoth and Seviper were ready while Sudowoodo stood perfectly still, almost mimicking Scizor. Croagunk was thinking about what Brock was doing and Pachirisu let small sparks fly from its yellow cheeks.

Tracy had only decided to use Ash's Pokemon for this battle because they were the strongest in all the ranch, most of Gary's Pokemon being transferred to his research facility at sea. Having too many Pokemon out to fight would get them clustered and made into big targets. The other Pokemon were not as skilled and would only get in the way. Tracy wanted to avoid as many unnecessary deaths as possible.

Meowth's legs were quivering as if the bones had been made of jelly.

"Anything from above, Meowth?" Tracy asked.

"N-N-Notin, dey say dey don't see anytin yet" Meowth mumbled. Tracy was glad to have Meowth there to translate, and had admired the Pokémon's courage for coming out here to fight in spite of the fact that he was terrified.

Tracy sighed, "you know Meowth, you don't have to be here if you don't want to."

Meowth looked at him, "I g-gotta, I wanna help."

"Meowth, if you're so afraid, you won't be able to fight properly, I thank you for helping me with the translation and I understand that you want to help. But helping can also be not dying. I don't doubt that you'd be able to protect everyone inside better than you can fight out here," Tracy suggested.

"Everyone's gonna tink I'ma coward if I go back now" Meowth mumbled.

"No they won't, as long as you're still fighting, even if it's inside the building, then they can't think you're a coward."

"You sure?"

Tracy nodded, watching and smiling as the cat Pokémon scampered back into the house. He almost laughed as Meowth ran right into an invisible wall that Mr. Mime had put up. If anything, all of Oak ranch was encased in barriers and light screens all done by Mr. Mime, and Mime Jr. There were several areas that weren't covered with a barrier of a light screen.

* * *

Both of the mimes had made so many barriers and overlapped them that air had difficultly getting it. Good thing if the Fearow used gust, bad if everyone inside started using up all the air in the rooms. The rest of the Pokémon not outside guarded the areas that were unshielded. Despite not having crossed the line, some Pokémon had really wanted to stay with their trainers to protect them.

Their trainers were happy to have them there and not fighting, even though they hadn't spoken out. Not only had the entire Oak facility been encased and outlined with barriers, the ranch itself was a criss-cross of invisible barrier mazes. There was still a lot of ample room for them to fight, and there were some areas that sheltered from above.

Tracy had to hand it to those mimes; they had done an excellent job in such a short amount of time. He had a bunch of ether inside; they had taken three breaks to refill the amount of barriers that they could use. Mr. Mime was halfway between the house and the ranch, ready to make a last second barrier in an emergency. Mime jr. was inside doing the same thing, lining the ceiling with another layer of barriers, sandwiching the steel, wood, and metal in between.

Dawn, Brock, Jessie, James, and Meowth sat huddled together, accompanied by the Pokémon who had stayed inside. Brock held Happiny, Dawn held Piplup, James held Mime Jr. and Jessie held Meowth. Everyone was quiet, everyone trying to calm their breathing as they sat in the living room on the green couch.

Noctowl noticed it first, a dark cloud in the distance. It fluttered over to Tracy, pointing it out with its wing. Tracy looked over at Donphan, "are you sure that you wanna do this, Donphan?"

Donphan began to roll in place, its answer was clear. Tracy nodded, giving Donphan the signal to go. Donphan rolled away, heading towards the west side of Oak ranch. They had only practiced this once, Donphan making it his priority to memorize where to go, and like they say, a Donphan never forgets. Donphan began lifting up off the ground, rolling up an invisible incline.

Mr. Mime had placed a series of barriers that were slanted and connected end to end. In essence, the platforms inclined and made a loop de loop. Once one had gone through the loop de loop, the platform would end with a platform aimed with an incline into the air.

Tracy had called it, the Donphan cannon. Donphan rolled easily through the loop de loop, no danger of falling off the platform, as there were also barriers to the sides of the path. Donphan flew into the air like a cannonball, heading right into the flock of Fearow. Plumes of feathers came out in tufts as Donphan knocked several Fearow in its path out of the sky.

The other Fearow ignored this and continued to fly towards their target. Tracy wondered whether Donphan was all right, hoping that it had landed safely somewhere in the forest, it would be a few minutes before it got back.

The Fearow began to circle the area, their bodies casting large shadows on the ground. With the single squawk of the alpha Fearow, the others began to flap frantically. Tracy could feel their combined gusts pummel the invisible walls that protected Oak ranch. To Tracy's relief, all of them held, showing no sign of giving out. After a minute, the Fearow stopped to the sound of another squawk. Tracy began searching the flock for the source of the command.

If he could find the alpha and kill it, he could probably end this war somehow. There were too many Fearow and all of them looked alike, all of them flying around, making a shifting feathery mass. The Pokémon on the ground held their fire. Any long-range move that they made would have to go through the light screen first. Doing so would weaken the move itself, while firing through an open area would alert to the Fearow to an opening. As far as the Fearow knew, the entire area had no openings.

The Fearow began to back up, with another squawk; they began to spin. All at once, the Fearow plunged, their bodies twirling through the air and colliding the barriers. Some of the Fearow had flown through the openings and crashed into the ground. Others managed to crack the barriers but not break them, leaving hundreds of cracks floating in the air.

* * *

Quilava moved quickly, breathing a stream of flame on one of the Fearow who had managed to breach the gap. Azumarill water gun pierced through another Fearow's heart with pressurized water. The Fearows noticed quickly, most of them swarming over to the gaps, while others continued to drill through already cracked barriers. The former group became a bunch of sitting Psyducks, a dozen of them getting stuck while trying to get through. A blue blur passed them, silencing the Fearow in a second. Swellow's aerial ace took a few seconds to take effect before the Fearow behind it were decapitated. Other Fearow learned quickly not to follow the mistakes of the others, concentrating on creating new openings.

Tracy cursed under his breath, the Fearow were learning too quickly. The Fearow continued to ram the barriers, over and over again; their drill pecks dealing critical damage. Eventually, seventy percent of the barriers and light screens had been destroyed.

Tracy could see Mr. Mime ready to add new barriers from the corner of his eye. He held his hand, knowing it would be a waste for Mr. Mime to use up his energy to make a barrier only for it to be destroyed seconds later. There were other ways for him to use his abilities effectively.

Now the Fearow could fly without the worry of barriers, and now the ground Pokémon could unleash their full power. Not as many of the Fearow had died, as Tracy had wanted during the destruction of the barriers, but then again, when did things ever go according to plan?

One of the Fearow flapped its wings, firing a gust in vain as Chimchar jumped into the air and spun. Flames enveloped the chimp, devouring the oxygen around it, making the gust useless against it as it set the Fearow aflame.

* * *

Crawdaunt fired a stream of bubble beams, volatile gas within the bubble detonated once exposed to air on contact when the bubble burst. The Fearow were battered by the attack but not defeated, flying towards Crawdaunt in retaliation. As the Fearow drew closer it became too late for them to escape the trap that they had been baited into. At least a dozen Fearow were within the range of Kingler's hyper beam.

The orange yellow beam enveloped them entirely, leaving nothing in its wake. Kingler's legs buckled before it, the hyper beam had left it depleted for the moment. A Fearow took that moment to charge, swooping down with a Drill Peck. Crimson claws clamped around the spinning beak, the rotation eating away at the innards of Crawdaunt's claws. Crawdaunt pressed against the beak harder, bringing the bird to a stop.

It wriggled to get free, bashing its wings against Crawdaunt's body until an ominous shadow loomed over it. Kingler's Crab Hammer broke the Fearow's spine, its body no longer moving within the crater. Crawdaunt fainted a few seconds afterward, Kingler quickly grabbing it with its oversized claw and taking it to a safe part in the building, if there was such a thing as a safe part.

* * *

Sceptile's arm leaves began to glow green, Tracy managed to watch from afar. Sceptile became a green blur, flying though the air to reach his target from below. His arms crossed, combining leaf blade and X-scissor. The blades carved through feather, muscle, and bone in a single swoop, leaving an X shaped scar. Sceptile grabbed the now headless body, using it as a platform to go even higher as it jumped over to its next target.

Tracy quickly made a mental note of this, realizing that the type of the Pokémon no longer mattered, only the severity of the attack.

Sceptile flew past another Fearow, the dimly glowing right leaf blade able to part the Fearow into two. There was no fear in Sceptile's eyes, gazing down at the ground almost a quarter of a mile before it. Sceptile's tail began to glow green, like its arm leaves had done. It began spinning downward, half a dozen Fearow's diced as it spun through them with its tail.

The tail began to dim; one unfortunate Fearow remained below him. It remained airborne for only a few seconds before Sceptile's tail slammed the bird into the ground, breaking its neck. The Fearow's grave crater sunk deeper as Sceptile landed on it with a stomp. Sceptile took aim, firing a stream of seed bullets that shredded a far off Fearow.

* * *

Glalie froze a Fearow with an Ice Beam, letting gravity to the rest of the work as the frozen Fearow fell and shattered into pieces. Meganium's neck leaves began to glow one at a time, like a countdown. A white and yellow beam fired from her mouth while another two beams came from Sceptile's mouth and Ivysaur's flower, blasting another set of Fearows.

* * *

The Fearows barely had enough time to execute their Gust attacks before fire, water, and lightning killed them. Mirror Move was useless since they would have to survive the initial attack. They hadn't expected such retaliation from this enemy. Their previous victims hadn't put up much of a fight to begin with. They outnumbered these Pokémon, but these Pokémon had more experience than they did. In actuality, they weren't trying to fight back, they had one sole goal in mind, and it was to search and let the alpha kill the boy with the red cap and Pikachu.

* * *

Tracy found a Fearow, charging at it and swinging his lead weapon. The pipe collided with the Fearow's chest, something broke but it wasn't enough to kill the bird. Tracy struck again, only to have his only weapon snap into two pieces. The last contact that the pipe had was Pikachu's Iron Tail and Sceptile's Leaf Blade. If Tracy had looked closely, he would've seen that the leaf blade had cut halfway though the pipe. Tracy backed away, the Fearow was mad with bloodlust.

Wind from Fearow's wings threw Tracy across the field; Tracy was on his back when the Fearow dove at him, and its body spinning for a drill peck. Tracy tried to roll out of the way but it was no use, he couldn't escape the bird's attack. A crimson claw crunched over the Fearow's beak, the pinning bird ceased instantly. Scizor flexed its grip, pulverizing the Fearow's beak. The metallic bug flung the bird away from his master; swiftly landing several dozen Bullet Punches to its body before it landed and died. He reappeared next to Tracy, holding out its claw to help him up.

"Thanks Scizor, I owe you my life" Tracy panted. Scizor shook his head, pointing at himself. Tracy suddenly remembered that he had helped Scyther when he was in critical condition. Had he not been there, Scyther could've probably died from the wounds if not treated.

"I guess that makes us even then?"

Scizor nodded, grabbed Tracy and flew them to the house. They stopped at Mr. Mime who was at the entrance, sealing it temporarily with a barrier. When Tracy was put down, Scizor began to pant; this fight was taking its toll on him. You couldn't tell from the outside, but inside Scizor was still quite old, and prolonged fighting made it fatigued. Tracy ran inside the house, there was no way that he could continue to fight out there without a weapon. He would have to search the house for a new one. Tracy was instantly noticed as he passed the others.

"Tracy, what're you doing here? What's the situation? Anything wrong?"

"Pipe…broke…need…new" Tracy replied, searching through papers and cabinets.

"Would you like some help?" Dawn offered. Tracy remained silent as he continued to rummage through piles of things.

* * *

Torkoal had used overheat too many times, his legs gave way and buckled. There had been a Fearow that had managed to dodge Torkoal's last attack. It had watched its flying brethren burnt to a crisp. The Fearow was singed but fully able to attack and take vengeance. Torkoal had no strength to get out of the path of the Drill Peck, crying for what he thought would be his last time. A cannon ball smashed into the Fearow, propelling it into an invisible barrier. Donphan came back in the nick of time, following the sound of all hell breaking loose.

* * *

Heracross could only kill one at a time, its Mega Horn skewering a Fearow with ease. Heracross gave no thought to whether the Fearow was alive or dead as he shook the Fearow's punctured body of its horn. Had the Fearow survived that, it would be finished off by the others or just die from blood loss. Heracross had just flown to attack when something stabbed into its back, boring through its exoskeleton.

The same Fearow it had stabbed earlier had come back to attack while its back was turned. The wound was healed and gone, the Fearow must've used roost to heal itself before it died. Heracross used endure; the drill peck would surely kill it otherwise. The Fearow's head lurched back, the neck snapped in two and the Fearow fell to the ground. Venomoth fluttered over to Heracross, the wounded bug giving a thumbs up to the moth.

A strong wind knocked Venomoth from Heracross; its body tumbled to the ground. Before the drill peck could stab through Venomoth a barrier appeared and softened the collision. The jab of the beak sent Venomoth flying to the house, smashing through the wall. Mr. Mime psychically broke the Fearow's neck, deciding whether or not to risk a check on Venomoth.

Another Fearow got its neck broken, not from Mr. Mime, but from Venomoth. Heracross slowly got up, its arms quivering and its legs barely able to hold the rest of the body up. Any attack would kill him now; he had to get to safety somehow. Heracross began to limp over to the house, its wings damaged beyond repair at the moment.

Three Fearow blocked its path instantly, daring it to cross. With the last bits of Heracross's strength, it lunged forward. A sky uppercut dislocated one Fearow's skull from its head as well as shatter its beak and fracture its skull. Heracross's fist slammed into the other bird's face, then to the gut, and into its ribs with brick break. The dark blue bug became a blur; Heracross's body bridged the distance between it and the last Fearow in less than a second. The force of the tackle knocked it back, only to have Heracross reappear behind it and do the same. Heracross did this from all angles, finishing close combat before collapsing onto the ground just a few feet short of the house.

Mr. Mime sprinted over to it, thrusting his palm out at another Fearow that flew at them. A purple haze steamed off his body, flowing over to the Fearow. The haze was invisible to the bird, but to another psychic Pokémon it would've been visible. A purple glow surround the bird now, it had flown into the invisible psychic haze. Mr. Mime broke the Fearow's neck now that it was in the clutches of his psychic. He dragged Heracross' body inside, reapplying a barrier at the entrance to protect him.

* * *

Quilava shot a river of fire at one Fearow, killing it instantly; the Fearow's neighbor opening its mouth to unleash its own river of flame. The Fearow were learning, they could use Mirror Move if they saw the attack even if it wasn't aimed at them. Quilava took cover, hopping behind an invisible light screen next to it. Flames poured over the area except for the few feet behind the light screen the Quilava took cover behind. The light screen began to melt, the flames showing no signs of stopping. A stream of water as thin as a thread shot through the fire breathing Fearow. The water thread continued to fire, passing over a few Fearow and dicing them. Croconaw danced in delight.

* * *

Seviper had been on the roof with Sudowoodo and Croagunk, battling against four Fearow. Dozens of paralyzed Fearow had fallen around it after Seviper used glare on them. Seviper was running out of glares, and the paralysis was only temporary. None of the Fearow dared get close enough to Seviper; the only effective move Seviper had were close range ones. The Fearow's began to use gust, slamming Seviper into the surface of the roof.

The barriers that outlined the roof began to crack. One of the Fearow dove for the Seviper, the snake Pokémon using all of its strength to move. The drill peck bored through the roof, missing Seviper's body by a few centimeters but destroying the roof's barriers. Seviper's body coiled around the Fearow's beak, it purple glowing fangs sinking into the feathery neck. The other three Fearow dove, their wings slamming to Seviper while it was busy killing its captured Fearow.

* * *

Tracy still hadn't found another weapon when the roof exploded above them. Mime Jr. created a barrier above them, catching the falling debris that would've crushed them. Seviper's body fell at Jessie's feet, she gave a horrified screech at the sight of her Pokémon covered in bruises and blood. "_Time to earn my keep_" Meowth jumped into action, sinking his claws into the wall and running up the side. He jumped and landing on one of the Fearow, launching wave after wave of attacks.

He Scratched, he Fury Swiped, and Slashed at the Fearow, soaking the feathers and his own fur in blood. Another Fearow went over and slammed its wing into Meowth and the bloody Fearow. Meowth slammed into wall and fell onto the computers, limp and cold. The bloody Fearow crashed onto the couch; the wing attack from its comrade had broken its back and killed.

Nothing mattered to the alpha Fearow until it got its revenge on the Pikachu boy. It rose, letting dozens of Fearow into the new opening. Turtwig fired a storm of razor leaves at the Fearow; the attack only drew droplets of blood and clipped some feathers. Buizel fired a water pulse while Piplup threw a gigantic spinning whirlpool water top. The attacks threw the Fearow to the ground; slowly, they got up. These water attacks had only soaked the Fearow's feathers.

Venomoth's body had just smashed into the room, it fluttered for a moment, using psychic on something and fainted. Croagunk and Sudowoodo peered over the edge of the hole in the roof. They jumped, each finding their own target. Croagunk's fist glowed purple, seemingly becoming a dozen fists at once as it jabbed one of the Fearow's.

Croagunk became a flurry of purple fists, poisoning many Fearow before getting Wing Attacked into a wall and falling unconscious. Each Fearow began to cough blood, the poison taking effect. Sudowoodo winced from the recoil damage of wood hammer. A Wing Attack from its blindside knocked it into a wall. Sudowoodo charged, slamming its stony fist into a bunch of Fearow, flailing, kicking and doing anything it could until it fell unconscious.

Another Fearow plunged to the floor, Noctowl's Psychic attack from above. Noctowl was knocked out of the air, a swarm of Fearow ganging up on it. Noctowl dropped onto the roof, patches of feathers missing, instead replaced with blood and bruises. The Fearow were about to finish it off when Staravia and Swellow Aerial Aced through them in an X.

Snorlax burst through the room, doing a Giga Impact and Mega Punch on two Fearow, their bodies shot out of the building. Two other Fearow used drill peck on Snorlax's stomach only to be bounced back across the room. Snorlax body slammed them, utterly destroying the east side of the building. Tracy watched, wondering whether Snorlax was helping, or causing more damage. Fearow attacked while Snorlax was busy.

Dawn and the others were their targets. Muk sprung before them, shielding everyone else with its body. Beaks stretched through Muk's body, but unable to penetrate it. Muk's body glimmered for a second; steam began to rise from the Fearow. Muk's acid armor rapidly melted the beaks and spread onto the rest of their bodies. Muk opened its mouth and used gunk shot; a pillar of sludge blasted the Fearow.

Snorlax turned, doing Hyper Beam on another set of Fearow. The building shook as another hole was made inside by Snorlax's Hyper Beam. Mime Jr. worked quickly, encasing the trainers in a glass box. Four Fearow slammed into Snorlax with their wings, launching Snorlax through the entrance of the house.

Ivysaur and Meganium latched onto their targets with vine whip, reeling the birds into the ground. The birds were slammed into the ground, hung, or snapped in half. Suddenly, something flew past them, creating a sonic boom and knocking them to the ground.

Snorlax tumbled, smashing through several barriers and knocking over several of the ground Pokémon. Quilava, Croconaw, Turtwig, Chimchar, and Azumarill were knocked out of the way. They weren't done fighting, but they were still wounded.

Tracy could hear the inner workings of the house begin to crumble. Metal groaned, wood splintered and snapped. There was only one thought in Tracy's mind at the moment, "_get out!_"

"Scizor, get them out of here!" Tracy said as he ran towards Mr. Mime who had just brought Heracross inside. "We need to get out of here, NOW!!" Tracy screamed. Scizor darted back and forth across the room, grabbing Meowth, Croagunk, and Venomoth. Kingler had just reached the entrance of the building when Scizor, Mr. Mime, and Tracy left the building.

* * *

Glass shattered, splinter shrapnel fired everywhere, and steel groaned and screeched as it bent inwards. Fearow still within the building were crushed as the building crumbled while the remaining Tauros stampeded out through the door. Tracy watched in horror, realizing that the others were still inside, as was his equipment, the vault of Pokémon, and Oak's body.

A cloud of Fearow still hung above the destroyed Oak facility. They had been dwindled down to half, as had the ground Pokémon. Snorlax roared, getting every ground Pokémon's attention. Its pudgy paw pointed towards the Donphan cannon, then to itself, Donphan, and a Tauros. Mr. Mime nodded, raising its hand to the only remaining barrier on the field that had been neglected the entire battle. Donphan rolled away, leaving a spray of dirt behind it while Tauros broke into a run.

Snorlax ran after them, its body tired from all the fighting and unable to keep up with Donphan in first and Tauros in second. Mr. Mime had made the modifications when Donphan mounted the first barrier. Donphan did the loop with ease while Tauros jumped off the loop half way onto the other side but never breaking his stride. Snorlax tucked into a ball, proceeding to do Rollout.

The barriers cracked and shattered only milliseconds after Snorlax crossed them. The only modification to the cannon had been the adjustment to the ramp, now pointing straight into the air. Donphan skyrocketed into the air, its body now a blurry ball from the speed of revolutions. Tauros jumped up next, not nearly as high but enough.

Snorlax's weight and Rollout left the loop shattered and dispersed as it flew up. The black pudgy paw grabbed Tauros, Snorlax still rising in the air from the momentum. Snorlax reeled its arm back, Tauros lowering its head and bracing itself. The force of the throw sent Snorlax's body in a mid air spins as Tauros flew through the air like a bullet.

Despite Snorlax's eyes always looking closed, it had pinpointed its target in the hive of Fearow above rubble of the building. The alpha Fearow watched as its minions flew into the path of the Tauros, bracing themselves for his Giga Impact. Tracy was knocked off his feet as the shockwave from the collision defeathered the first Fearow. Tauros's horns stabbed into the bird's chest, the rest of its body thrown back and smashing into the other Fearow. The Fearows behind the first one fell, not dead, but definitely stunned. Gravity began to kick in, sucking Tauros's body to the floor.

Tauros shook its head, discarding the dead Fearow before it attacked once more. He straightened his legs, the stunned Fearow still beneath him. Tauros winced, using the full force of his body and stomping on all the Fearow beneath him. Their backs were broken, but so was each of Tauros's legs. He tipped over, wheezing and taking the pain that racked through his body.

Donphan began to drop; Snorlax grabbed it, using its own spin to its advantage. Donphan seemed to part the air after Snorlax pitched it, more Fearow throwing themselves into its path to protect the alpha. The cannon ball Giga Impact that was Donphan literally punched holes through the dozens of Fearows in its way. Each puncture slowed its body down in speed and in revolutions.

Donphan was only a few feet away from the alpha Fearow before it plunged to the ground. The pachyderm Pokémon slammed into the ground with a thump. Donphan had fainted; the spins and speed had made it dizzy until it passed out. Snorlax slammed into the ground with a large resounding thud; its body bounced an inch off the ground before landing again.

Something snapped within Snorlax's body upon landing. With all of its girth and muscle it could no longer move from where it laid. The only thing it could do was to use rest. The move would fix its broken back but leave it open for the next several hours to an attack. Snorlax knew full well that the Fearow wouldn't give it a chance to wake up. The only consolation that Snorlax could think of was that it would die in its sleep and would feel no pain.

Swellow and Staravia charged at the alpha Fearow, wounding a few Fearow on the way with their Aerial Ace. The alpha Fearow watched them, seeing the Aerial Ace aimed at it. One could've blinked and missed what had happened, and even though Tracy hadn't, he wasn't quite sure that he knew what had happened. Staravia and Swellow were only a few feet from the alpha when it used its own Aerial Ace. Both of Ash's birds fell to the ground, blood spilled behind them and raining onto them as they landed.

Tracy wanted to go over and get Ash's Pokémon, but they were directly beneath the Fearow, they were only alive because the alpha Fearow allowed it. He sensed the rest of his Pokémon line up beside him. Tracy didn't know whether the rest of the Pokémon not fighting were critical, unconscious, or dead. The Fearow still had a little over sixty in their regimen while Tracy only had eleven Pokémon on his side. Tracy hadn't thought that the alpha Fearow to be so powerful if it need to be shielded by its subordinates. But he was wrong.

Sceptile, Ivysaur, Meganium, and Turtwig unleashed a storm of leaves in any way they could at full power. The razor edges began to make minor cuts on the bird's skin and feathers. The alpha Fearow raised its wings, ignoring the cuts it was receiving. The leaf hurricane was blown away with a gust. Tracy was thrown back, being caught by Mr. Mime.

Ash's plant Pokémon slid across the dirt slowly, doing their best to hold their ground except for Turtwig who was sent flying head over heels. The three of them fired a white and orange beam in unison. Some of the Fearow dodged, others weren't as lucky. The alpha Fearow's beak parted the center beam belonging to Sceptile, getting closer. At the last second, Sceptile ceased firing and blocked with its arm leaves. Ivysaur and Meganium tried grabbing the alpha Fearow with vine whip but it was spinning too fast for them to get a grip on it.

Both were at a stalemate until Sceptile threw the Fearow back. It was over in an instant, the alpha Fearow appearing behind Sceptile who was now falling over. Sceptile stopping itself, managing to stand by supporting all the weight to its left leg, the reptilian plant coughed blood.

Meganium and Ivysaur stood frozen, as did everyone else. Out of all of them, Sceptile had the most experience and was technically the strongest in many aspects and attributes. If the alpha Fearow could defeat Sceptile, what hope did they have? Sceptile was tired from all the previous fighting; it was no longer at its peak while the alpha Fearow who hadn't even taken a blow yet was at its strongest. The alpha Fearow turned, looking every which way but not finding what it was looking for. Tracy followed its gaze, seeing the Pokémon it stared at. Fearow stopped on one in particular, reappearing before it almost instantaneously.

"He must be using Agility," Tracy thought, looking at the Pokémon before the Fearow. It was Pachirisu; utterly terrified as the alpha Fearow's head bent down and stared at it. Pachirisu gave a warning spark; the Fearow did not flinch, if anything it stared at Pachirisu more intensely. The alpha Fearow lifted its head looking around Pachirisu. It began to glare in frustration, plucking Pachirisu by the tail and flapping over to Tracy.

Pachirisu was dropped at Tracy's feet, the alpha Fearow now studying the both of them at the same time. Tracy looked at Pachirisu, wondering why the alpha was concerned with this specific Pokémon. There wasn't much that made Pachirisu special, white fur, furry tail, and yellow checks from where the electrical attacks ca- Pikachu! My black hair, it's wondering if I'm Ash and Pachirisu's Pikachu. It hasn't seen a Sinnoh Pokemon and hasn't seen Ash for a while.

"Ash isn't here. The trainer with the red cap and Pikachu, he's not here. He left before you guys came" Tracy explained.

The Fearow obviously understood but was skeptical, looking all around again. After a few seconds the alpha stared back at Tracy, flapping its wing in one direction, then the other.

"_It wants me to tell them where Ash is_? _Should I tell him, we could escape while they hunted for Ash. But they would find him, and kill him. He left us before the fight. He deserves it. I don't know here he went though. Is it even right for me to condemn him? Of course it is; he left us to die. There's one problem though_. "

"I don't know where he went," Tracy mumbled.

The alpha was furious at the news, to think that it had wasted so much time, had prepared so much, gotten its hopes up, and lost so many of its flock, just so that they would come back empty handed.

The alpha flew back, aiming its beak at Tracy's heart; none of the Pokémon from this battle could stop it now. A lightning bolt struck between the alpha and Tracy, drawing their attention to Pikachu only a few yards from them. The group of Fearow overhead began to squawk in pain. Dozens of Pidgeot and Pidgeotto swarmed over the Fearow.

A single Fearow was simultaneously hit by hree Brave Bird attacks and carved by several Air Slashes. The alpha Fearow's army was decimated in seconds, leaving the alpha completely alone. Pikachu sprinted over to the alpha spinning in the air with its gleaming tail. Iron met beak, cracking the latter and making the alpha squawk in pain.

Pikachu couldn't use Thunder, no matter how much it wanted to. Everyone else's Pokémon were too close, Thunder was too slow, and Pikachu had made a promise.

One Pidgeot left the aerial annihilation, Tracy couldn't believe who was riding it.

Ash looked down and saw Pikachu, then to the fleeing alpha Fearow and nodded, Pikachu had promised to leave the last one to them. If birds could smile then one could agree that was what Ash's old Pidgeot was doing.

* * *

It had been years since Ash had ridden on its feathery back their first time also being their last. Ash had come with Pikachu to their nest. A dispute had been going on at the time about whether or not they should kill humans. Ash's Pidgeot had ascended to the rank of alpha Pidgeot and clearly disliked the idea. The majority of the others disagreed, urging Ash's Pidgeot to reconsider.

Ash came to them, realizing what was happening and bringing Pidgeot's flock a proposal. It was the promise of battle and food. The flock was so busy with their disputes that they had forgotten all about the Fearow. Pidgeot couldn't send his flock to protect pallet town for risk of the flock mimicking the Fearow and killing humans. Berries or pokeblocks no longer sated them. In the end, the agreement was unanimous.

* * *

Ash crouched back down, clinging to Pidgeot's feathers for support as the bird began to spin and flip through the air. Pikachu could've easily killed the Fearow with a thunderbolt, but felt that it was necessary that one rival alpha kill the other. Pidgeot flapped its wings, air vacuums crossed over and sliced off Fearow's wings. The alpha Fearow began to fall, its eyes bugging at how weak it was compared to its rival.

Pidgeot dove sharply, rising up again with Fearow directly above it. Agility, combined with Extreme Speed, Quick Attack, and Aerial Ace made it seem like there were multiple Pidgeots all attacking from different angles. The speed was knocking Ash out as Pidgeot carefully sliced up the alpha, being careful not to damage it too much. Pidgeot had promised Ash that the alpha would suffer for the crimes of killing the people of his town as well as destroying it.

Fearow lost all feeling in its legs, probably because they were no longer there. Pidgeot came from below again with a Peck Attack, stabbing its beak into Fearow's midsection. Fearow was sent flying up higher into the sky, Pidgeot winked at its former trainer, Ash getting the message and letting go. Now with the extra weight gone, Pidgeot could move even faster.

Pidgeot blurred upward, passing the Fearow torso with ease. The air was thin; icicles were forming on Pidgeot's wings as it reached the earth's atmosphere. Pidgeot ignored the discomfort and pain, aligning itself with its target below.

A white cone formed around Pidgeot's body as it charged downward, resembling Pikachu's Volt Tackle. Ash was still falling, watching as Pidgeot did Brave Bird on the Fearow. Fearow's mind was blank, unable to deal with what was happening at the moment, luckily for it, its death would be instant.

It was almost as if both bodies had warped from where they were high in the sky, to the ground upon collision. Ash had only been able to catch the both of them transform into a silver thread but only because of the intense speed. The move was silent except for the aftermath, which was a thunderous explosion that shook Ash's teeth even from a mile of distance.

Ash remained calm as he fell towards the ground. He didn't even scream, merely crossing his arms and waiting. It would take a couple of minutes before he hit the ground; he was in no hurry. Ash had barely noticed that Pidgeot had come from below him, the soft feathers cushioning him. He got into position and gripped Pidgeot's feathers, though, not to tightly to avoid discomfort on his companion's behalf.

"All right Pidgeot, now back to our friends" Ash smiled, pointing in the direction of the battlefield that was Oak ranch, where the others were waiting.


	10. The Gloves Come on

**August 21**

Tracy watched as Ash's Pidgeot swooped over, the raven-haired trainer dismounting as soon as bird Pokémon touched terra firma. Pikachu quickly jumped onto Ash's shoulder, smiling, as was Ash when he walked over to Tracy. The former watcher was too stunned for words or even actions. Mr. Mime quickly ran over to Ash, bowing deeply and standing at his side. The rest of Ash's Pokémon limped towards him, their eyes shimmering with tears of joy.

"Sorry I didn't tell you guys I was leaving. If I didn't go when I did, I wouldn't have been able to bring these guys. Sorry I'm late."

Tracy trembled; Ash began backing away, the Pokémon around him ready to defend. A hand reached out to Ash, no longer shaking, landing on his shoulder limply.

"We wouldn't have survived if you hadn't left to get those Pidgeot. I had my doubts before, but I'm glad you're here." Tracy said, his body noticeably relaxed.

"Tracy, where's everyone?" Ash asked. Tracy flinched, having momentarily forgotten the others in the midst of the tense situation. The former sketcher turned, now facing the rubble that was once Oak's lab. As if on cue, arcs of water and pieces of the rubble burst from inside the mound, revealing a large rectangular glass box that encased the trainers and the Pokémon that hadn't escaped from the house in time.

Everyone was holding their noses; Ash's Muk had also managed to make it inside the barriers with them. Mime Jr. made a motion, causing the barriers around them shatter. It wasn't long before everyone stampeded towards Ash. Dawn was the first to reach him, nearly knocking him off his feet with a full contact hug.

"I knew you'd come back," Dawn muffled from his shoulder.

"Hey, I made a promise to your mom, didn't I? I'm gonna protect you as best I can until we meet up with your mom again."

"Seems like you and Pikachu are on good terms again," Brock said, walking calmly over to them. Ash smiled and looked at Pikachu, both of them nodding. Dawn gradually let go, positive that Ash wasn't planning to leave unannounced any time soon. Jessie and James walked over to them, the former holding a limp Seviper in her arms. James put Mime Jr. down to receive Meowth from Tracy.

At first, the two were worried about Meowth's condition; small patches of white fur had managed to escape the stains of blood that covered his body. Tracy consoled them, showing them it wasn't Meowth's blood but the blood of the Fearows that he had attacked. Tracy checked on Seviper and Meowth, telling them that they weren't too seriously hurt, and would live. The ex-rockets shedding tears of relief.

Ash's smile gradually shrunk; silently turning from the group he made his way back to his Pidgeot. If stealth had been his intent then it had been poorly executed as the action succeeded in gaining everyone's attention.

"Ash…where are you going?" Tracy asked, trying to follow him at first.

Ash froze for a moment, keeping his back to him as he spoke.

"…I'm gonna finish the job. I have to destroy the Fearow nest, and kill all the Spearow and their eggs" Ash's tone dark, walking away once more over to his old Pidgeot.

Ash's Pokémon followed, not questioning his judgment for even a fraction of a second.

"A-Ash, wait! Wait a second," Brock sprinted over to Ash, grabbing him by the shoulder.

"What?"

"Ash. Your Pokémon are wounded, you can't expect them to just fight for you now. Especially after they've been fighting for their lives in just the last hour," Tracy pointed out.

"I wasn't planning to take them. I'm only taking Pikachu and the rest of Pidgeot's flock. I'll come back when I'm done."

Dawn cautiously walked over to him, "Ash. This isn't like you."

"Ash, you shouldn't condemn the Spearow and the eggs for what the Fearow have done," Brock began.

"If I don't stop them now, they'll grow up and kill more people and destroy more cities," Ash countered, shrugging off Brock's hand.

"Ash, there's nothing left here to destroy!" Brock's arm waved around, pointing at what was left of Pallet Town.

"What's gonna stop them from flying over to another city and doing the same," Ash shot back.

"You don't know that they'll do that," Brock countered weakly.

"You know that there's a good chance they will. If I don't stop them now…then…then everyone they kill, all that blood's on my hands. I'm not gonna stand here and let that happen," the boy hissed.

"Do you think that your would mother agree!" Brock yelled, immediately regretting having to use such an underhanded tactic on his own friend.

Ash's eyes widened, he froze for only a few seconds before pulling his cap down over his eyes.

"I…I don't know what she wanted, but she's not here anymore," Ash ground out, fighting to keep his voice from wavering.

"To be honest, I kind of agree with what Ash is saying" Tracy said from the background.

"Tracy, you can't be serious?" Brock replied.

"You've got to admit that he's making a lot of sense," the ex-sketcher pointed out.

"Yeah, but enough blood has been spilled today," Brock concluded.

Ash whipped his body around to them, his furious expression shocking them.

"Why are you trying to stop me? Why are you protecting them!"

"Because they're still innocent, they haven't done anything," Brock answered back firmly.

"But they will! You know it! I know it. You want me to stop them once they've been given a chance to destroy another town?"

"I'm not saying killing them once they've killed is a good thing, But I prefer it to slaughtering newborns" Brock put forth.

Ash was trembling, but took deep breaths and calmed down rather quickly, heading back towards them, pulling his cap over his eyes once more. The attempts at relaxing were futile; the seeds of bitterness and anger had already been sown deep into his heart.

* * *

Tracy surveyed all the Pokémon that had fought, comforting everyone by telling them that their wounds would heal with time and they would be okay. After rummaging through the rubble they found a first aid kit and used to bandage and splint the wounds of their collective party.

They would have to heal by the old fashioned method of waiting, there were no potions or Pokémon centers nearby, or rather, that even worked anymore.

Brock cooked with the only thing that they had to work with, Fearow breast, Fearow legs, and Fearow wings. No one really wanted to eat.

"Guys, after this, I need to get my blueprints and the Pokémon in the vault, but it's under the rubble so I'm gonna need your help." The Pidgeots and Pidgeottos roosted on the ground, waiting patiently for their alpha to give a command. Ash's old Pidgeot was busy catching up with the old and new additions to Ash's team. They swapped stories and talked while Ash and the others sat and ate.

Everyone nodded; the Pokémon listening in to the conversation joined in on the gesture. Those too wounded to move were set aside while the ones who weren't as wounded worked. The Pokémon seemed generally happy with their near victory, mostly because no one had died.

* * *

By the end of the day everyone was soaked with sweat and exhausted. Tracy overlooked the smashed computers, shaking his head in disappointment as none could be saved or salvaged. He'd asked that every paper they found be collected, regardless of whether it was blank or torn.

Dawn had found Oak's body still lying, as if still asleep in his bed. Somehow he had managed to remain untouched during the building's collapse. The blunette froze; still unaccustomed to dealing with cadavers. Ash went over to her, moving her away from the sight.

"_This must be even harder for him, he knew him,_" Dawn thought as he pulled her aside.

"I'm sorry, Ash. I wish I had gotten to know him," she eventually said, unsure of what to say in this kind of situation.

"He was a good man. He was always really nice to me. I'll never forget him. I made a promise to him as well," Ash replied softly before leaving her side.

Tracy perked up as Ash approached him, laying down several torn pieces of paper he'd been holding and trying to see if they had originally been part of the same sheet.

"What is it, Ash?" Tracy asked visibly annoyed from being interrupted.

"Before professor Oak died, he left me in charge of finding Gary and giving him his Pokémon."

Tracy's eyes widened, discarding the papers in his hands as if they were nothing and going back to the ruins of the facility. After a few minutes Tracy came back, a heavily embroidered wooden box in his hands.

"This box contains Oak's Pokémon, it's a pretty big honor for his grandson to have them." Tracy explained, handing the box over to Ash. Ash looked around the box, trying to find an opening but finding no recognizable keyhole.

"I can't find an opening to it, how do you get it open?" Ash said, tugging at various corners and creases around the box with all his strength.

"The professor said that his grandson had the key," Tracy added.

"And… if Gary's dead?" Ash suggested, immediately hating having to consider the scenario.

"The professor said that Gary always has it on him, so if he died then it should be somewhere near him at least. I don't think Gary would die so easily anyway; he's got as much Pokémon as you."

Ash nodded in agreement, a pregnant silence soon followed before he spoke again.

"Dawn found the professor's body…"

Tracy said nothing, reaching down to pick up the scraps of paper he'd been examining earlier, turning them like one does a puzzle piece. Ash decided to leave him to his own devices, feeling better now that he'd taken a small break.

* * *

Everyone continued like clockwork, eventually making various piles of debris surrounding the original site.

Ash fell back onto the ground, letting the sweat roll off his face. Brock, Jessie, and James quickly following suit. Dawn insisted on sitting while Tracy had disappeared into a secret basement beneath the lab. The sun was setting now, some of the stars beginning to appear.

"What a week," Dawn sighed.

Ash held onto her comment, realizing that everything that had happened so far had all transpired within a week's time. It had felt much longer than that, but he imagined stress did that to people's perception of time.

Ash looked around, seeing that everyone's Pokémon were resting outside of their pokeballs. Pikachu had curled up beside him.

"Guys! I have something to show you," Tracy calmly yelled as he emerged from the rubble, carrying a steel suitcase with him.

"What is it?" Brock asked, pushing himself into a sitting position with a bit of effort.

"It's something that I was helping the Professor with before all of this happened. He and other professors, as well as many great minds such as Kidd Summers. We were developing a prototype for trainers to use when they went on their journeys. We combined almost all the previous pieces of technology that were given to starting trainers and put it into this piece of equipment. This object can scan and analyze Pokémon just like a Pokédex. It has a holographic three-dimensional map based off the Pokénav, and has a built in cell phone, radio, and watch. It can also hold the pokeballs for you summon faster as well as return them quicker," Tracy listed off.

Jessie whistled in approval, Brock simply smiled at the news.

"Alright, what's the catch" James interjected. Tracy shook his head and grinned for what seemed like the first time in ages.

"No catch, it's powered by a rechargeable battery that can be solar powered. We were working with the Pokémon centers so that they would have charging ports within the facility while people waited for their Pokémon to be healed."

"I'm guessing this was really expensive to make and it's not cost effective," Brock deduced.

"That's partly true. What we've got here is the prototype. If they proved successful, we were going to have them mass-produced. These things are heat resistant, durable, and can go underwater without damaging the person wearing it."

Tracy began to open the suitcase, everyone drawn in like a Venomoth to the flame. They traced the ex-sketcher's fingers as he undid the clicks and pops of the buckles of the suitcase. Tracy paused, almost as if for dramatic effect before opening the suitcase and revealing to the object inside.

The top half of it was red with a glossy sheen, the white lower half was separated by a black line. It looked more like a Pokéball and a football that had fused together.

Tracy picked it up gingerly, holding it with one hand, while the nails on his other hand searched for a crease within the black horizontal line. His fingers found the opening and pried the gauntlet open. The ex-sketcher put his arm in and closed the other half of the gauntlet over his arm. It clicked into place, a soft hum emanating from it as the machinery inside the gauntlet whirred to life.

"What's it doing?" Dawn inquired.

It's scanning me and taking a sample of my DNA and voice. Once someone puts this on, it becomes bound to it. Right now I'm the only one who can wear this thing, if anyone tries to wear it, it won't work for him or her. If its original owner is ever separated from this thing for more than a week, then it'll permanently deactivate, the same thing goes if someone tries to take it apart and tamper with it. I've added a few modifications to this thing myself. This baby can now hold up to twenty Pokémon and even summon them all at once if necessary."

"That's all great, but now that you have it on, we can't use it, what any good is it to us?" James pointed out.

"I never said that there was only one" Tracy replied smugly.

Everyone's eyes lit up, watching Tracy leave and come back with more suitcases. Each one opened their own case and put the gauntlet on, binding with it for life. Ash aimed his gauntlet at Pikachu, a white screen appeared on the shiny red surface. Pikachu's stats flanked a miniature hologram model of the electric mouse.

"What were you planning to call them?" Dawn asked, admiring the accessory from different angles.

"The professor isn't really creative with the names of the technology he's created so he decided it the Pokéglov."

"How many do you have?" Brock asked as he placed his on.

"We have about thirty of them down at the basement. We were planning on shipping them out and seeing how trainers did with them."

"How long does the battery last for?" Ash said, his back to Tracy as he scanned all of his Pokémon one by one.

"The battery dies out in two weeks but it only takes three hours to charge at a Pokémon center or a good electrical attack."

"A what?" Ash asked the former sketcher, not entirely sure he heard him right.

"Here, I'll show you," Tracy replied, walking over to the young coordinator.

"Dawn, ask your Pachirisu to do Thunderbolt at my Pokéglov."

The blunette nodded, positive that Tracy wouldn't be asking her to do this unless he was perfectly sure he would be safe. Doing as he was told, Pachirisu launched a bolt of lightning at the gauntlet. Tracy looked at his pokeglov; its battery life now visible on its screen.

"The gauntlet's at full power," Tracy announced, "and when the Pokéglov is at full power it deflects the lightning somewhere else. Just be careful where you deflect it."

"Hey Tracy, this is cool and all but how can we bring out our Pokémon with this thing?" the raven-haired boy inquired.

"You can also assign Pokémon to your fingers and the gauntlet'll read the movements and summon them accordingly. There's more to it but I'll get into it later."

"Does it come in any other colors?" Dawn asked sheepishly. Tracy, Brock, and Ash gazed at her incredulously, a bead of sweat dropped behind them. Dawn blushed and stared at her feet in embarrassment, "Sorry, stupid question."

"_I'm showing her one of the most sophisticated pieces of equipment in the region, she'll be one of the first people to ever use it, and she's asking if it comes in any colors? What does she want! Mauve? Magenta_!"

"So what now?" Jessie asked, the last to put on the gauntlet.

"I was thinking we could leave here by morning. I don't think there's anything left for us here."

"Sounds good to me," James chimed.

"I second that," Brock added.

"Alright then, it's settled. Get a good sleep cause we move in the morning." Tracy announced.

Everyone pulled out their sleeping bags and snuggled in while Tracy silently took first watch.

* * *

Tracy loomed over the edge of a rectangular hole in the ground. Ash made it apparent that he was going over there so not to spook him.

"What're you still doing up?" Ash inquired, now standing next to the professor's assistant. Ash gazed into the hole, unable to see its contents at the bottom.

"I could be asking you the same. I take it you couldn't sleep?"

"...Yeah. You?"

"...Just doing some unfinished business," He said solemnly, Ash noticed the shovel in his hand and understood.

"He's down there, isn't he?" Ash whispered, Tracy nodded and began filling in the hole. When they were done they stood in the same spot they had before, instead now looking onto the tombstone that Tracy had placed there before he had started digging. It was one of the pieces of debris from the house; Tracy had taken the time to carve it into the right shape as well as carve the words on it.

**Here lies Samuel Oak**

**Genius of his time**

**Loving grandfather and a wonderful Teacher**

**The world can never hope to give back what this man has given to the human and Pokémon community.**

"This doesn't do him justice" Tracy sighed, Ash nodded. If they had their way, the entire world would be mourning the death of this great man. He'd have a grand funeral with hundreds of people, a better tomb, and a better eulogy. For now, he would have to suffice with this.

"You should go to sleep now Tracy, it's getting late and we're gonna need you for tomorrow."

"You're right, but what are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna stay and watch, I'm not to sleepy at the moment. I'll switch off with Noctowl when I'm done."

Tracy nodded, leaving the area and going back to where the group was and slipping into a sleeping bag. Ash walked over to Noctowl who was wide-awake at the moment.

"Noctowl, can you watch over them? I need to go somewhere for a bit."

The bird nodded, watching as Ash left the campsite.

* * *

Ash walked far, deeper and deeper into the rotting wound that was the former Pallet Town. Oak's facility now mimicked the rest of the town in its disheveled state of ruin and rubble. Ash barely recognized some areas, but others were still discernible, like the stream where he and Gary had fought for a rusted Pokéball.

Ash pulled out the rusted the Pokéball, both halves now with him since the Silver Conference. It was here that the piece had split into two. Memories of Gary settling their old rivalry and telling him that he was gonna follow his grandfather's footsteps and become a researcher came to Ash. Hopefully Gary was still alive.

He would find Gary and help Dawn reunite with her mother, but not before they stopped by Brock's home to see if his family was okay. He also wanted to see Misty, and May and Max and… and every second they weren't moving was a second that his friends could be closer to death.

Ash's mind was a buzz of thoughts and feelings of what to do. The only thing he could do was tackle one thing at a time, but he wouldn't be able to do anything from here. All he could do was hope that they were all right.

Ash continued to walk until he found what he was looking for, he had also come here to end some unfinished business.

Ash stood before the tombstone he had made, he hadn't bothered to dig a hole, as there was no body to bury. He had used debris from mound that used to be his house to make the tombstone, carving it and molding it into the right shape, just as Tracy had done.

**Here lies Delia Ketchum**

**Awesome mom and cook**

Ash didn't know what more to add, he didn't bother to say a eulogy, as no one would hear it but himself. There were so many things that had been left unsaid, he couldn't remember the last time he had said, "I love you" to his mother or the last time he had hugged her.

She had always looked out for him, supporting his every journey and decision. He was glad that Mr. Mime had kept her company while he was gone. She must've still missed him and worried about him; wondering whether he had changed his underwear or been eating well. He had taken so much for granted, he hadn't even said goodbye to her. Had she thought of him before she died?

Ash shook his head; it was too painful for him to think about that. He was glad that he was here alone, what would the others say if they saw him now. His knees buckled beneath him, his hand resting on top of the tombstone. For a long time he cried, letting out all of his sorrow.

Once he was done he pushed himself up with the tombstone and wiped his tears away, heading back to the camp.


	11. Memory Lane

**I do not own Pokémon, which is kinda good because the original creator would never let me do this sort of thing with this series. **

**Also, see if you can find the ironic comment I have in this chapter, if it's not ironic to you now then it will be in the future.  
**

* * *

**August 22**

* * *

Dawn awoke with a start, surprised find everyone already up and about. Jessie and James were helping pack up the sleeping equipment; Meowth had finally woken up, feeling well enough to walk and talk. Brock was making breakfast with utensils from the lab while Ash continued to marvel at his new Pokéglov. Tracy was just returning from the ruins of the lab, his backpack filled with pokeglovs, he had fully stocked at least 15 of them with Pokémon from the vault.

Tracy's plan was to find a safe haven for the wild Pokmon to live peacefully as they had in Oak's ranch. Ash couldn't help but doubt that there was anything safe on the planet anymore, but it was worth a shot. Jessie and James were filling Meowth in on what was going on when Dawn noticed that all of Pidgeot's flock had disappeared.

"Morning Dawn," Ash greeted the blunette with a smile on his face.

"Morning Ash, where's the Pidgeot's flock" she asked.

"Oh, them? Yeah, they went out, but they'll be back soon," he replied dismissively, quickly finding something to occupy himself with.

In truth, Ash's Pidgeot had lead the flock to the Spearow and Fearow's nests, under his master's orders.

Jessie and James mounted the bags on the remaining Tauros sans one; Ash's personal Tauros still too wounded from the fight to carry even himself.

The former sketcher advised the group to adopt Ash's habit of keeping at least one Pokémon out at all times. Ash had chosen Mr. Mime and Pikachu to accompany him outside of the Pokéglov while Brock chose Sudowoodo. James had Mime Jr., and Dawn picked Ambipom. Tracy approved of the choices, feeling that the group had a good balance of offense and defense when they encountered hostiles.

Tracy had managed to transfer all the Pokémon in the vault to several Pokéglovs without having to bind himself to them. The Pokémon inside were to never be used in battle, even if they were outnumbered. Tracy didn't want to send the ranch Pokémon into their battles; their inexperience would only make them get in the way and killed. The other problem lied with the other Pokémon in Oak's lab, ones owned by trainers that had left Pallet Town.

The news of the possible deaths of their masters would not bode well with them. Even if it did, there was no guarantee that the Pokémon would even listen to them. The last thing they needed was to have the Pokémon escape and wreck havoc in the area.

For a while, no one did anything but stand in silence. Tracy was the first to move tapped James's shoulder, telling him to check the map and get a heading for where they were going. James mumbled something and a holographic map appeared, six blinking red dots representing them. James was in awe as he manipulated the virtual landscape to his liking. Turning the map, peeling off the geographical skin and revealing the elevation map underneath. He looked at the routes that they could take, seeing which cities they could visit.

Cinnibar Island was out of the question since they had to cross the ocean to get there. He shrunk the image, showing the entire planet and he enlarged it back to their region. Tracy coughed loudly, shaking James from his distraction and looking at the compass. Brock immediately took the lead, maintaining a fast pace for a good majority of their walk.

The faster they got to his family the better.

* * *

They walked for a long time; Ash was beginning to lag behind the rest of the group. The dirt road treaded on was the same road he and Pikachu had taken; of course he and Pikachu weren't on the best of terms back then. The electric mouse had refused to fight for him; at the time the amateur trainer thought he could capture Pokémon without his starter's help.

Using his old jacket he had tried to capture a nearby Pidgey, failing miserably in the process and earning the mocking laughter of the mouse as his only reward. In his frustration he threw a rock, accidentally hitting a Spearow. Ash remembered running for his life as the bird called his friends to attack. Pikachu ended up rerouting an actual thunderbolt from a sudden storm, zapping the swarm of Spearow into submission.

Was he to blame for the deaths of everyone in his hometown? The deaths of so many Pokémon, his mother, and the man that started him on his journey? Ash wanted to think the Fearow would've done it regardless of his actions years ago. In the end, he felt it was better to never find out, lest the answer he found be one he wouldn't be able to bare.

Their group eventually came to a waterfall, the same waterfall where he had met up with Misty. He had fallen into the lake, only to be reeled out by her. He took her bike where it would later be fried. Ash couldn't help but wonder if she was still alive, knowing he had to make for Cerulean City once they passed Pewter.

The group continued walking, completely unaware of Ash's reminiscent thoughts. They hadn't walked very far before they realized he had completely stopped, staring off into the sky.

"Ash, what're you doing?" Dawn asked.

The raven-haired youth stood silent for a few seconds, his gaze transfixed on azure skies. Everyone tacked his gaze, finding nothing.

"When I first started my journey, I accidentally made some Spearow angry by hitting one on the head with a rock. The entire flock came after Pikachu and me and if it couldn't get any worse, it started to rain and thunder around us. Just when I thought we weren't gonna make it, Pikachu got hit with a lightning bolt and redirected it into the flock."

"Pika" the mouse cried out, happily nodding.

"When the storm ended and cleared up, I saw a legendary Pokémon. It was a golden bird that left a golden rainbow behind it when it flew. It was one of the coolest things I ever saw. When I told professor Oak in the beginning of my journey, he didn't believe me at first I didn't know what it was until I got to Ecruteak in the Johto region. The gym leader there, Morty, told me it was the legendary Pokémon Ho-oh. I felt special, I was one of the few people that had ever gotten to see Ho-oh."

"I hope that Ho oh wasn't affected by the dampener removal, I'd hate to see such a great Pokémon like that do terrible things," Tracy commented.

Ash nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I hope Ho-oh's okay."

* * *

It wasn't long until they reached Viridian City, unsurprised to find the place completely devoid of life. Brock and Tracy immediately went straight to the Pokémon center, hoping to salvage whatever was left. The scene of carnage inside the facility was no different than what they'd found in Sinnoh.

Ash and the former rocket trio waited patiently outside while Tracy, Brock, and Dawn scavenged around the abandoned Pokémon center.

"This is where we first met," James commented wistfully, staring at the Pokémon center in shambles once more. Ash remembered that day well, never imagining that he would ever have to see Team Rocket in the future.

"But back den we were on differin terms, an jus lookit us now," Meowth added. Neither of them even so much as looked to one another, their eyes glued to the roof of the Pokémon center that had managed to stay still intact. Brock and Tracy came out, their hands filled with various items that they hadn't entered with before.

"What's with that?" Ash asked, gesturing towards the scraps of money in their hands.

"We don't know what we're gonna find up ahead. I'm not sure if this has any worth anymore, but it doesn't hurt to have something to barter with," Brock explained.

"You searched their dead bodies for money!" Ash cried out.

"Relax twer…ehem…Ash, the dead aren't going to use it," Jessie interjected, defending both Tracy and Brock to everyone's surprise.

"It just doesn't seem right," Ash mumbled, moving aside to let both of them load the spoils of the dead onto the Tauros.

"We don't like it anymore than you do, Ash," Tracy mumbled as he walked past him.

Dawn came out afterwards, dusting her pink skirt and trying to look presentable.

"If anyone's interested, there's a bathroom inside, it's pretty beat up but still usable," Dawn informed.

Everyone except for Dawn, Ash, and Meowth went. In twenty minutes time they began filing out.

"All right, let's start heading out," Brock declared as the last person exited the building's lavatories.

* * *

Not long after their trek from the Pokémon center Dawn began to notice the amount of greenery had increased. She raised her Pokéglov, and asking it to bring up a map of their current whereabouts. A screen appeared on the red glossy surface, showing them as dots on the map. She wasn't imagining it, they were entering another forest. Forests meant bug Pokémon. Wild Pokémon meant danger.

"Guys? Why are we walking into the…" Dawn looked down at the Pokéglov 's screen for a second, "Viridian forest?"

"There's no other way around it, we have to go through here to get to the next town," Brock began, noting the look of concern on her face. "Don't look so worried, we'll be fine now that we have so many powerful Pokémon with us," Brock's attempts at comfort falling short.

As much sense as his words made, they didn't make her feel any less afraid and nervous. Tracy looked at his Pokéglov, checking his radar and finding out the types of Pokémon that lived in this area. He took the liberty of sending the information to everyone else as they walked. Those native to the forest were Beedrill, Kakuna, Weedil, Caterpie, Pidgey, Pidgeotto, and Metapod.

Pikachu was the first to notice the faint buzz, the perking of his ears alerting the party's Pokémon. A yellow blur zipped past their defenses with ease, heading straight for the raven-haired youth. The boy's starter blurred into motion, slamming the flat end of his tail into the Beedrill's chest, dual stingers just short of a few centimeters from Ash's head. The Beedrill's body soared through the air, slamming into a nearby tree with enough force to make an audible _crunch_ for everyone to hear.

Whether the crunch came from the tree or the Beedrill's back breaking, was left unknown, the sounds of buzzing grew louder with every passing second.

A pair of quivering stingers tore through the air at Tracy's skull, only to be caught by Scizor's claws. The crimson Pincer Pokémon effortlessly pulled the Beedrill's arms off its body without a moment's hesitation. Wasting no time, the Beedrill thrust his lower body forward, the bottom stinger throbbing in anticipation. Acting quickly, the weathered mantis launched his foot at his master's attacker, the blow succeeding in severing the Poison Bee's abdomen from its thorax.

Mime Jr. immediately boxed in the Tauros, as his older counterpart creating another box for the trainers. Salvos of Poison Sting and Pin Missile pinged uselessly against the barriers the moment they came up. Swarms of Beedrill flew at them from all directions, jabbing the Light Screens with their stingers.

Swellow's Aerial Ace diced through those surrounding the barriers, only to find twice as many Beedrill all to eager to take their place.

Everyone quickly got the message and did the same as the thunder attack landed. The bolt hit Pikachu, the electric mouse releasing every volt in a single burst engulfing the area in lightning. Ash and the others were unaffected, their pokeglovs absorbing the lightning meant for them and deflecting it, some of the bolts hitting other Beedrill. Everyone opened their eyes, shaking off the blindness that had squeezed through their closed eyelids. Burning Beedrill littered the ground, the buzzing the background continued.

"Staravia, Chimchar, Quilava, Glalie, Noctowl, Torkoal, Croconaw, come out!" Ash yelled. The Pokéglov easily registered his voice and summoning the Pokémon as he called out. The others did the same as the seemingly endless waves of Beedrill came at them.

Frozen Beedrill shattered once they hit the floor from Glalie's ice beam, Chimchar wheeled through the air, its body a flaming ring that burned through anything in his path. Croconaw blasted the bugs with torrents of water; if the initial blast didn't kill them then their soaked wings left them grounded an easy prey for the others. Quilava and Torkoal unleashed rivers of flame as the stars from Ambipom's Swift attack sheathed themselves into several Beedrill.

Tracy picked up a nearby stick, stabbing it into the glossy crimson eye of a stunned Beedrill. It swung its stingers furiously at him, missing him by only the thickness of a hair.

"Ash, we have to get out of here, there's no end to them. We can't keep fighting like this!" Brock shouted.

Ash looked at him and nodded, "Everyone, run!" Ash said, pointing in the general direction that they had been walking towards. Staravia, Swellow, and Noctowl took the lead, Chimchar, Quilava, and Torkoal taking up the rear. The Tauros stampeded to the right, one of them brought down by the Beedrill. Ash pushed his disappointment and sadness to the back of his mind. There was no time to think, he would have to dwell on that later, if there was a later.

Ash's fire Pokémon lit up the forest behind them, countless screeches filled the air in response. The combined efforts of the mimes kept the hail of needles from reaching them. So far everyone had been able to keep up pace, but they wouldn't last if this continued any longer. Pikachu, Pachirisu Glalie, Ambipom, Azumarill, and Croconaw fired attack after attack behind them, killing Beedrill in hopes of slowing them down.

Despite having almost over a mile under their belts, the Beedrill showed no sign of letting up. With their Pokémon exhausted, more and more attacks missed their mark before eventually ceasing altogether. The only choice left was to keep running and return their worn-out Pokémon lest they be left behind and their fate left to the swarm. Dawn was on the verge of collapse when she tripped over a root.

Ash was the first to run back and grab her just as a tsunami of yellow slammed into them within seconds.

The Tauros bucked and stomped, doing their best to ward off the Beedrill but succumbing to abuse of a thousand stings. Mr. Mime did the best he could with his psychic blasts quickly found himself overwhelmed. Dozen's of stingers stabbed into the mime's body, toxins pouring into his bloodstream. Ash cried out, only to suffer the same fate.

Ambipom watched in horror as the Beedrill repeatedly sheathed their stingers into Dawn's fallen body. The Long Tail Pokémon went into a frenzy of rage, attacking the Beedrill with everything it had to avenge his fallen coordinator. James threw himself over Mime Jr. letting the stingers plunge into his body instead.

Tracy refused to submit, grabbing a Beedrill by the throat as its stinger embedded into his stomach. With his last atom of strength he pulled off its head before his body shuddered from another dozen stingers stabbing into his back.

"_I won't die here, I have too much to do, and it's too early for me to die. We've just started, I won't be finished here, I wo_-"

Tracy's eyes glazed over before collapsing onto the ground.


	12. The Last Samurai

Hunger pangs were Ash's first sensations as he stirred from unconsciousness. Fleeting images of green and yellow filled his thoughts behind lidded eyes. Before long, the colors began to take form and his memories began to trickle back into this mind.

_Home. Gone. Mom. Professor. Dead. Everything. Crazy. Pokémon. Killing. Beedrill. Everyone! _

Ash's arm thrust forward, the action instantly becoming a regrettable one as jolts of pain immediately ran all through all of his body. The boy fell back, sending the hammock he was resting in swing gently. Black eyes darted across the ceiling, eventually lowering to gaze down his body. A white sheet rested just beneath his arms, covering the extent of his body. It pained him, but he managed to overcome it and throw the sheets off his aching form.

The young trainer's face paled when he saw his body covered in bandages, dried stains of blood marking each and every one of them. Small patches of skin were still visible, but they were few and far between. It quickly occurred to him that he wasn't wearing anything except for his boxers and Pokéglov. As the color rose to his cheeks, Ash immediately yanked the sheets over his body to preserve a sense of modesty.

A quick scan of his dark surroundings revealed nothing to him at first, but as his eyes adjusted to the darkness he was able to make out the inner lining of a hut. Snores penetrated the silence; Ash's eyes followed the source of the noise only to find Brock resting in another hammock. The more he looked around the more he noticed the presence of multiple hammocks strung about the interior.

He counted them, relieved to see that it was the same number as the people that traveled with him. Suddenly, the door at the far end of the room opened, a blinding light blasted into the room. A dark figure eclipsed the rays, appearing humanoid for the most part. Yet, there was something off about the figure.

Without warning, something shot through the door and onto Ash's lap. Pikachu's furry figure was easily recognizable in the dimness of the hut. Although the mouse's landing caused his wounds to sting, the utter happiness of seeing his friend managed to make Ash numb to it.

"Careful, he's still recovering from his wounds" the person said, stepping out from the veil of light. From what Ash could tell the man was armored from head to toe with samurai armor.

"I'd understand if you didn't remember me, I hardly recognized you until I got a good look," the samurai said with a smile.

Ash couldn't help but stare dumbly at the man before him, trying to piece together where they had met. It took a minute but after studying his face intently, something clicked and the memories rushed forth like a broken dam. His difficulty recognizing the man before him was understandable now. He'd had to dig deep into his past, to his first days as a trainer.

He was in the process of capturing a Weedle, only to have it escape upon an untimely interruption. A young boy had come and challenged to a Pokémon battle, if one could call it such when it was two Metapod hardening before each other.

"You're…you're that bug-catching samurai guy I met a long time ago!" Ash remarked incredulously, to which the man in question nodded.

Time and experience had taken their toll on the warrior in the years that Ash had seen him. For one, the armor that he had donned was crimson and bulkier than the last armor he wore. He had gotten taller than Ash, and his eyes gave off a sense of maturity that he had accumulated over the years of living in the woods.

Ash looked around before asking, "Where are we?"

"You are in my cabin," the samurai responded flatly.

"How…how did we get here?"

"You can thank your Pokémon for that. Your Pokémon fought bravely, even after all of you had fallen, it is commendable. I came only a few seconds after you had all passed out and helped them fight off the Beedrill and drag you here for safety. You've all been out for three days."

"Three days! We've been out for three days?"

"Your Pokémon have been guarding this area, or at least the Pokémon that you summoned. I have been unable to summon any of your other Pokémon from the Pokéglov on your wrist. Meowth has explained everything about it while we took the liberty of cleaning your wounds."

"We were poisoned," Ash pointed out.

"Living here means that you can never stock up on too much antidote for poison. Even though the dampeners are gone, I guess the antidote still works as a suitable cure."

"Where are my clothes?" Ash asked earnestly, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"I shall go fetch them for you," the samurai said, walking over into the far side of the room.

Ash looked beneath his sheets and back at the samurai.

"You said that you checked all of my wounds?"

"If you're referring to the waist up and the knees down, then yes, I cleaned and bandaged those. If you're talking about your more private areas, luckily no one's injuries extended into that territory."

Ash did his best to dress himself under the covers without trying to hurt himself when Pikachu and the samurai left for the outside. Awkwardly but eventually he managed to fully dress himself and get out of his hammock. Just as his feet touched the ground Dawn began to come to.

Dawn seemed to go through the motions that he had just gone through as she tried to get up. For the sake of modesty her blouse had been left on, covering the extent of her injuries from sight.

"Dawn, don't get up too quickly, you might hurt yourself. Just lay down."

Dawn didn't really understand what was happening at the moment, but the pain was enough to make her listen and do as she was told.

Ash explored the rest of the cabin, finding their cargo in the corner of a room. Everyone's clothes had been neatly folded together in separate piles. Less than half of the cargo that the Tauros had been carrying had survived, a grim prospect for the group until they could find a place to resupply. With a heavy heart and a sigh he meandered towards the exit to the outside.

* * *

It took a while for Ash's eyes to get accustomed to the light, but eventually he able to see after a few minutes. There, standing in a row in front of the house were the Pokémon everyone summoned, excluding the Tauros, and the samurai.

They stood motionless, gazing out at the forest, and eager to pounce at a moment's notice. All of them turned eerily in unison as Ash approached the samurai in the center.

"How are you feeling?" the samurai asked.

"I'm alive," Ash replied with a dry laugh, "but I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am that you saved our lives."

"Think nothing of it. I'm just sorry I couldn't save your Tauros."

"That's…okay. I know you did the best you could.

"We have to stick together if we want to survive in this new world. I myself would've never guessed why this was all happening had Meowth not explained it to me. I personally thought that it was the end of the world as we know it."

"Why are you out here anyway?" Ash asked, looking around in search for what might've been looking for.

"It's the Beedrill. Their hive grows every day to the point where they will eventually come here. These past few days I've been killing them in hopes to drive them away, maintain their population, and secure a safe border. So far it's not looking good. No matter how many I kill, they continue to reproduce at a frightening rate. Beedrill do not scout or leave the nest at night, which allows me to sleep easier but they begin to expand during the morning."

"Why haven't they come here yet?"

"We are out of their boundaries for today, but within a day or two the Beedrill will swarm this place. The Beedrill don't venture far past their borders which is why they didn't follow you here."

"What Pokémon have you been fighting them off with?"

"Right now it is only my Pinsir and I. We…lost Metapod a few short days ago," the samurai said solemnly.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Ash replied with genuine regret.

The samurai sighed and shook his head.

"I was a fool to pit it against one of the undampened Weedle in hopes that by winning, it would evolve into a Butterfree. I remember that your Butterfree put an entire hive of Beedrill to Sleep Powder. I was desperate and thought I could do the same as you, but I ended up paying the price."

"If you don't mind me asking…how did your Metapod…was it the Beedrill?" Ash inquired cautiously.

"No. It was the Weedles," the samurai spat, his voice filled with revulsion. "They're actually worse than the Beedrill."

"What do you mean?"

"I can only believe that this new development is caused by the removal of the dampener. When my Metapod was stung by the Weedle's horn it managed to penetrate through the shell. I took Metapod home quickly to try and patch him up, but by the time I got there with him he died."

"By poison?" Ash surmised.

"No, worse. The Weedle's sting impregnated my Metapod, and another Weedle began growing inside the cocoon. The Weedle inside began eating my Metapod from the within its very own cocoon, leaving it as nothing but a husk. When I tried to patch up the hole, the Weedle burst through the opening and nearly stung me as well before I killed it. I don't know whether the same would happen to a human, but I don't want to find out."

Ash shivered at the thought of it, happy to change the topic quickly before he could imagine any more of the gruesome scenario.

"Ash, you wouldn't happen to have that Butterfree with you anymore?"

"Sorry, no. I released my Butterfree years ago."

"That's a shame, it would've made our escape easier."

"Escape?"

"Yes, did you really think that I would stay in a place like this?"

"I just thought that since you've been here all this time…"

"I would've left a lot sooner if there weren't for one large obstacle standing in my way."

"What?"

"Did you really think that there was only one Beedrill hive in this entire forest? There are multiple hives in this area, or at least, there were. Now that the dampeners have been taken off the Beedrill have become more territorial and aggressive."

"You're telling me."

"The hive that you just passed used to be a small one, but over this short period of time, that small hive began attacking other hives and conquering them. Soon, most of the hives became assimilated to the original and they created a super hive that continues to expand each day. You only dabbled by the edge of their border."

"I still don't get why you won't leave"

"Because, our only exit to Pewter city is blocked by another super hive. The only way to make it through to the city would have to be to go directly _through_ that hive."

"Can't we go around it?"

"We could try, but the hives are growing at alarming rates and it gets worse. The Super hive blocking our way to Pewter is expanding in our direction while the one you passed is also expanding towards us."

Ash's face flushed as all the blood began to leave him.

"Why? Why are they coming after us?"

"No, they're not coming to get us, they're coming after each other. Each side wants to assimilate the other hive into its own. When they collide, it's going to be a Beedrill war that'll encompass the entire forest. We'll be in the center of it if we stay or try and go around it. I'm only one person so while I tried to push back the Beedrill borderline of one side, the other side still advances, and I won't risk Pinsir to have to fight by itself."

"What can we do? How much time do we have?" Ash asked frantically.

"We a have a day at the most, and we will have to wait until the rest of your friends are awake until we can discuss a plan. Some of your friend's injuries may not allow them to go through with what I have in mind. Though, in a way, your arrival has given me hope that I will be able to survive this endeavor. If we work together we may be able to survive this and your debt to me will be repaid. Do you have any fire Pokémon?"

"Yeah, I've got three."

"Good, I'm guessing that they know smokescreen?"

"Yeah, they should know it, but why?"

"Smoke puts Beedrill to sleep."

At that moment, Dawn left the cabin, temporarily blinded by the contrast in brightness, like Ash had been earlier.

"Hey Dawn, how are you feeling?"

"Okay, I can at least walk" She replied, limping slowly over to them.

"You're all lucky. The Beedrill weren't attacking to kill. All the stabs were shallow since all they really wanted to do is poison you. Once they were sure that they had enough poison in you, they would've left you alone to die. It was a good thing that you were merely on the edge of their borderline. That won't be the case once we go through their hive. The closer we are to the heart, the more lethal their attacks will be."

"We're going to be doing what?" Dawn asked skeptically.

* * *

The samurai walked inside where everyone began to wake up. After they had all dressed with introductions out of the way they informed of the situation. The samurai went into detail with his plan once their group finished eating a large enough meal, making up for the three days of hunger.

Once they finished, the samurai rolled out a map of the forest, circling where they were, and where the two hives were. They were crescent in shape, explaining why trying to go around them would be difficult if they were growing larger every day.

He talked over how they were going to get though the hive, explaining his ideas. The plan would take place the next night so that they could prepare themselves.

"Why can't we do it now?" Ash pointed out, his finger aimed out the door where the sun was beginning to set.

"We're not prepared yet, let's not rush these things" the samurai replied. "I want to leave this area as fast as I can since there will be complications by staying here for another day."

"Such as?" Jessie inquired.

"The Beedrill's hive may extend near here and we may have to fight them off until the sun begins to set. The Beedrill always send scouts in the morning to extend their territory and there are always a few of them. If they do not come back by the end of the day, even more are sent the next day, which by then we will hopefully not be here. Since it is a newly scouted area, the amount of Beedrill we will fight will be minimal on one side. But-"

"There's always a catch" James sighed.

"We may not only be attacked from one side, but by the other side as well. The other hive is extending at the same time. This is all theoretical mind you, but you can never be sure."

"We'll have to make two groups to fight off both sides until sunset," Brock recommended.

The samurai nodded in agreement, "I was going to suggest that as well. Do any of you object?"

No one shook their head, and why would they? They had all just survived an incredible fight against the Fearow.

"Have we got stories ta tell you," Meowth mumbled to the samurai.

"Anyways, I think that's about it for tonight. Everyone, get some shuteye so that you're ready for tomorrow. The second that it becomes dark enough we will be running till dawn. The forest has grown larger in the past few years so we will need every second to get out of the forest" the samurai informed.

Ash began heading out the door. Brock and the samurai followed him out as well. It was dark out; there was no moon out tonight, painting the forest as dark as tar. Hopefully the next night would grace them with the silvery spotlight of the moon to guide them through the black void that was the forest.

The samurai sighed with disappointment while staring at his cabin. "I've lived in this cabin for years, and now I'm losing it to the Beedrill."

"Why do you stay here?" Brock asked.

"I guess you could say that I help ferry the people through here to Pewter city as they could get lost in these woods. I also prepare them for the challenges ahead by challenging them to a battle."

"Why? What do you get out of it?" Ash remarked.

"It is what my father did, as his father did before him. The satisfaction of helping a person through this place is enough. If they cannot defeat me, then the road ahead of them will be filled with failure and disappointment."

"And the samurai get up?" Brock inquired.

"It is my father's, I wear it out of tradition and respect, but it seems appropriate to wear it now since it helps deflect the poison stings, pin missiles, and physical stabs from the Beedrill."

"Do you happen to have any extra pieces for us to wear?" Ash asked.

"No, this armor is passed on from generation to generation, there are no spare parts."

"Would you like a Pokéglov to keep your Pinsir with you? We've got plenty and I'm sure Tracy wouldn't mind," Ash offered.

"I appreciate the offer, but I will have to decline. It would only clash with my armor if I wore it. Plus I only have one Pokémon and I don't plan on catching any others in the future, so it would be a waste to bond it to me with only one Pokémon."

"Do you plan on sleeping in that armor?" Ash joked.

"Possibly," the samurai responded nonchalantly, "I don't feel safe without it on. Call me paranoid, but until I find an area where I truly believe that I am safe, then I shall take this armor off."

Ash had been joking before and didn't think that the samurai was actually serious.

"Won't it get uncomfortable trying to sleep in that?"

"Not really, I've worn this so long that it feels like a second skin."

"I know it's a little late to ask this but, what's your name?" Brock interjected.

"For now…just call me Samurai" he replied and said nothing more before heading back to his hut.

"I'm hitting the sack too. Don't stay out too late, Ash. We got a big day tomorrow" Brock recommended before heading back inside the cabin.

Brock had walked half towards the cabin when Ash called out to him, "Hey Brock, how do you do it? How is it that you're not freaked out about your family, I noticed you've kept your cool this entire time."

Brock sighed

"I can only hope that they're okay, if I worry, that's not gonna help me or save them any faster, it may even make hamper my ability to help them. I just have to do things the best I can, and hope for the best; plus, my Pokémon and parents are with them, they should be okay."

"I wish I had your optimism" Ash said before Brock headed back to the hut.

Ash couldn't help but hear Brock sigh under his breath, "First Ariados, now Beedrill. I'm really beginning to hate bug Pokémon. Now Misty and me will have something in common for once."

Ash smiled for a second and looked back at the sky, wondering if everyone was okay. He looked around, noticing that there were no other Pokémon in this entire forest other than the Beedrill. The Beedrill must've wiped them all out for being in their territory like the Fearow did with humans and Pokémon alike. Or worse yet, made them into hosts for their offspring. He shook the thought away quickly.

Ash stood there for a few minutes before heading back to the hut, hoping that things would go smoothly the next night.


	13. All The Buzz

**August 26**

* * *

Ash awoke to the sound of buzzing outside the hut. At first he ignored it, trying to drown it out and go back to sleep. In the midst of doing that, it hit him, almost literally.

Ash rolled out of the hammock, making a _whumph_ noise as the air escaped his lungs upon landing. Wood splintered above him as two needles punctured through walls, wriggling for a few seconds until the slick ring of metal sounded behind the wall, the stingers ceasing to move.

Ash had slept in his clothes, as had everyone else so they wouldn't have to change in case this kind of situation had happened.

Ash scrambled for the door, jumping back with a start when three stingers stabbed through the door only silenced in a few seconds. Hesitantly, Ash peered through a crack in the door, finding a swirling tornado of yellow surrounding the area.

Tracy, Pinsir, and Samurai had been fighting frantically. Fear gripped his heart, flashes of memory of when he was last stung paralyzed him to the core. The spirit was willing, but the body was in no hurry to be wounded again, especially since he had yet to recover from their previous battle.

Ash's hands trembled against the door; a wave of self-loathing came in response to the recognition of his own cowardice.

"_It's not cowardice, going out there is suicide_!" A small part of his mind seemed to scream. Ash banished the voice, burying it deep down so that it would never speak again.

"I've done worse before. Run headlong into a battle between legendary Pokémon, jumped off and fallen from high places. How can you stand there while your friends are fighting for their lives?"

Pushing past his fears, Ash threw open the door and ran, lest his doubts reclaim him and paralyze him once more. He thrust out his hand; three fingers that where evenly spaced out summoned Croconaw, Swellow, and Glalie. Samurai had asked Ash not to use any of his fire Pokemon until night so that they would be at their full strength. Ash was at the liberty to use any other Pokemon until then.

The flash brought everyone's attention to him, including the Beedrill. Six of the Poison Bee Pokémon flew towards Ash, never making it more than a few inches in his direction. One froze, another had a hole punched through it with water, and Swellow and its wings shred the last three beyond recognition.

"I see you've woken up, Ash. We've only been fighting for our lives here, glad to see you could join us," Tracy panted as he moved the wet and clinging hair out his eyesight. His attempts at sarcasm were weakened by his obvious fatigue.

"Well I'm here now. That's what matters, right. So…this is what he meant by the scouting swarm being small. I'd hate to see a big swarm."

The constant drone had deafened Tracy's hearing, as well as somewhat muted Ash's voice, making Tracy nod to whatever Ash had said without even really hearing it. In total honesty, he couldn't even hear his own voice.

Ash brought the pokeglov to his mouth, "Noctowl, Staravia!" Ash yelled. Another two flashes of light brought forth Ash's other bird Pokemon. Both knew immediately what to do, quickly joining Swellow in the massacre.

"We might need Noctowl for later tonight, Ash" Samurai yelled out.

Ash barely caught Samurai's voice, but got the concept of what he was saying.

"Noctowl, come over to me"

The bird obeyed reluctantly, having already taken a liking to the abundant feast that now orbited them. Noctowl landed onto Ash's arm, the Pokéglov making the perfect perch. Having Noctowl there gave him a small sense of security and comfort. Noctowl had nearly 360-degree range of vision, making an attempt to attack Ash instantly futile quickly proving futile.

Ash stood there in the eye of the Beedrill hurricane that encircled them. The swarm was cautious, making sure to keep its distance. They were far enough to evade an airborne attack and close enough to retaliate. The scouts were relatively young and were therefore limited to basic physical moves.

Ash couldn't help but watch in fascination as Samurai cleaved a Beedrill in two. His movements were swift, almost graceful. One could almost forget that this dance was actually leaving gore and death in its wake.

The grass at Samurai's feet was painted with the blood of the Beedrill, his feet sloshed as the blood began to puddle around him. The constant sound of crimson rain pattering upon his armor, his blade clashing with stingers, and angry the screeches from steel and Pokémon alike emanated from around Samurai.

Ash realized that this might have been the reason why Samurai's armor was now a dull red. Stingers prodded against Samurai's armor, finding no purchase while they died. Ash tried hard to follow Samurai's movements. At some point, the Beedrill had unanimously decided to attack him all at once. Ash was about to order Noctowl to help against the unfair odds as they converged, but in that moment, Ash realized his assistance was never really needed. Samurai's blade was sliver of silver that left several afterimages in its wake, seemingly encasing him in a silver cocoon. The congregating swarm briefly hung in the air, now in pieces.

Tracy batted away the Beedrill with a bamboo baton he had made from the surrounding forest. The blows to the head and midsection didn't kill the Beedrill, but it did stun them long enough for one of the other Pokémon to finish the job.

Never more in his entire life did Ash wish he knew how to fight. He felt useless, standing there and watching this spectacle.

"_Maybe Tracy or Samurai could teach me how to fight_?" Ash thought, turning his attention to Noctowl who had picked up a potential threat to him. He turned to see a Beedrill charging at him. Noctowl flapped once, two translucent blades of wind flew at the Beedrill and sliced off its wings. The Beedrill tumbled to the ground, stabbing its stingers into the ground and lifting itself up. It adapted quickly, ignoring the fact that it no longer had any wings with only the sole purpose of killing Ash in mind.

The stumbling Beedrill didn't make it very far as Piplup's beak stabbed into the back of its skull.

"Alright Piplup, just like the contests, GO!" Dawn yelled.

Piplup jumped into the air, opening its beak while spinning its body around. Hundreds of bubbles poured from Piplup's mouth as it spun. The Beedrill had no way to evade the attack incoming on them so quickly. The wave of bubbles exploded and battered them. The swarm began to rain out of the clouds left from the explosion, littering the field were the remnants of the scouts, bruised and struggled to get up.

"Piplup, use whirlpool. Now!" Dawn ordered.

The Penguin Pokémon landed onto the ground, crying out to everyone and motioning for them to back away. The gesture was recognized instantly and everyone did as they were told.

Piplup aimed his head at the sky, opening his beak with his arms raised. Like all water Pokémon, the saliva glands inside the Pokemon's body were capable of fusing hydrogen and oxygen at an accelerated rate. A spiraling torrent of water rose from Piplup's beak, forming a giant cone of water.

Hundreds of gallons of water now spun, suspended over Piplup's head like a tornado. The Penguin Pokmon leaped into the air, carrying with him the blue vortex. At the apex of his jump he swung his arms down, aiming the mouth of the aqua vortex at the fallen Beedrill. Even Dawn was impressed, sharing the all around expression of wide-eyed awe and jaw-dropped amazement.

The sight of the Beedrill swirling inside the sapphire cyclone left the onlookers speechless if not entirely hypnotized. Their drowning bodies thrashed violently as they slammed into each other, or what was left of them.

"Glalie, use Ice Beam" Ash said distractedly, his attention glued to the aqua cone that encompassed the entire battlefield that they had been fighting on.

The pallid white beam fired into the whirlpool, stopping all motion instantly.

Piplup began to fall towards the flash-frozen funnel, aiming his beak at the tip of the ice pyramid.

"Use Peck, Piplup" Dawn cried out.

Piplup's beak began to glow white just a second before it collided with the frozen structure. One single fracture ran down the cone as Piplup's body passed through it. The cone seemed to dissolve, revealing Piplup, standing in a field of slush.

A random assortment of limbs poked through the slush, if the Beedrill hadn't drowned, then they had been shattered into pieces. Piplup had decidedly taken a pose; head bowed with his wings outstretched behind him. All was silent, everyone still trying to comprehend what had just happened and still becoming accustomed to the world without the constant drone of buzzing.

"Amazing," was all that Samurai could utter.

"That was awesome Piplu-," Dawn stopped talking halfway through her sentence.

Piplup's entire body began to blend right into the snow, it's entire body turning white and getting brighter.

Before long the light began to dim, standing in Piplup's footsteps was a Prinplup, still maintaining the same pose. After a second or two, Prinplup moved, noticing that something was different. The instant its new wings came into view, it froze. It blinked after a few times, its brain unable to process this new development and plagued by denial.

Everyone's pokeglov beeped to life, "_Prinplup, Penguin Pokemon. Prinplup tend to live alone, all considering themselves the most important thing. Its wings can snap even the thickest trees, it searches for its prey in the icy seas_."

Prinplup overheard this, now understanding and accepting this revelation. It closed its eyes and remained silent for only a moment before jumping and crying out in joy.

Dawn ran over and hugged the ecstatic Pokemon, while everyone stood there in awe, even the Pokémon.

"I…I've never seen a Pokemon of that stature display such power. In fact, I've never seen that Pokémon at all in all the years I've stayed in this forest."

"It's a starter Pokemon from the Sinnoh region," Tracy explained.

"A…a starter Pokemon?" Samurai said breathlessly, "How long has she had it?"

"She's had it for less than half a year at the most" Ash clarified.

"Less…_half_? Are all Sinnoh Pokemon like this?"

"Pretty much. I wondered the same thing when my friend Gary beat my Pikachu," Ash added.

"I can't imagine how strong that Pokémon must be now" Tracy commented.

Ash raised his hand and clenched it twice, returning all his Pokemon to the Pokéglov while everyone began heading back to the hut.

Jessie, James, and Meowth burst through the door; both of them bearing makeshift weapons while Meowth bared his claws.

"We're ready," they said in unison.

"You just missed it" Dawn said, walking past them with Ambipom and Prinplup beside her. Samurai surveyed the now snowy battlefield for surviving Beedrill, impressed to find there were none. Ash, Pikachu, Scizor, and Tracy entered the hut, Samurai joining them afterward.

Brock was hiding in a corner, covered in pots and pans from Samurai's kitchen.

"Nice samurai armor, Brock" Dawn giggled. James closed the door behind Samurai as he entered.

"Did your Pokemon evolve?" Jessie commented, noticing she had not returned with her starter but instead a larger version of it.

"Yeah, it's a Prinplup now" Dawn announced proudly.

Ash wondered what would've happened if he had summoned Chimchar. He imagined the flaming tornado of Fire Spin from an undampened Sinnoh Pokemon would've incinerated the swarm, although with probably most of the forest as well.

"_But just think, I could have a Monferno right now_" Ash fantasized.

"Alright then, we have until sunset to get ready to leave. I want all of you to rest up until then, for we will not be stopping for anything. It may take the entire night to leave the borders of this forest. Take only what is necessary and won't weigh you down or make too much noise. We are heading into the very heart of the northern Beedrill super hive. The majority of Beedrill will be asleep, but that doesn't mean that they won't wake up if they see an intruder."

"Avoid any contact with the Beedrill, if they begin to attack, do not fight back as that will only slow us down even more, just keep running. Ash's Torkoal and Quilava will make a smokescreen so to make the Beedrill fall asleep and not alert the others if they do see us if it comes to that. That was the reason why I asked him not to summon them to this morning's battle, so they could save up their strength."

"The less Pokémon we have in the group, the easier it will be to get in and get out. Since it is dark, Noctowl will help lead they way out of here. Only summon Pokémon if absolutely necessary, preferably small. Don't bother summoning them if they are slow, as it will only hinder us. Is this clear?" Samurai barked.

Everyone nodded silently, the armored warrior returning the gesture before heading over to a corner of the cabin and leaning into it, his sword propped near him as he closed his eyes. Ash realized that it would be best to sleep now so that they wouldn't have to later tonight.

The group bustled into movement, laying out his or her things for the journey ahead. Dawn returned her Pokemon while Brock began to put away all the kitchen utensils he had used for armor in case of another needle storm.

Brock wondered whether there would be any cooking utensils in the town over, or food for that matter.

"_Should I leave the food we have? Maybe the pots, pans, and silverware? Yeah, that'll make too much noise. Would the scent of food attract the Beedrill's attention? I'll have to ask Samurai about that later_," Brock mused.

Dawn didn't really have anything to pack as it had been left behind at her house. She was really beginning to feel the effects of not showering for a week and hating it more every day. There had been no time to do that sort of thing and her hair was suffering for it. She didn't comment on it, but the fact that the guys hadn't showered either made them smell even worse.

"_As soon as we find a safe place with a shower, I'm going for it_" She promised herself.

James looked over his bottle cap collection, wondering if it would make too much noise when they would run. He decided to take the risk; he had already parted with too many of his most prized bottle caps over the years. As unwise as it was, he decided that he would risk bringing them with him but not before making some safe precautions by placing each in the folds of his clothing so that they wouldn't clatter together.

Ash decided that he would go to the bathroom since this was a good a time as any. Once he came back, another person did the same, the last thing they needed was to go to the bathroom later tonight.

* * *

Ash spent the rest of his waking hours outside, watching as the sun began to dip at the trees. Pikachu was on his shoulder while Noctowl was on the other, Quilava was resting at his feet.

He heard the door open behind him, the sound of crunching grass as everyone filed out of the cabin filled the air. The snow on the battlefield had melted already, leaving the ground moist and cold.

Other than Ash's Pokemon, Scizor was the only other Pokemon out of the pokeglov. As long as he didn't have to fight this night, Scizor would not tire for the rest of the night from carrying some of the bags they had given him.

The sun was halfway past the trees when Samurai stared at his cabin, the place he had called home for so long. There were no words of comfort that could be said to someone who was abandoning their refuge of memories. Samurai quietly turned back, as did everyone else, not once did Samurai look at his cabin again.

Ash felt it rude to stare, but from the corner of his eye, he could've sworn that Samurai's eyes seemed to shimmer from withheld tears.

There was no signal, but it was self-explanatory. The instant that the sun's topmost edge sank beneath the dark trees, Samurai broke into a sprint

The only sound that came from them was the rustle of the grass beneath their feet as they ran. Noctowl flew ahead, scanning for anything that would intercept them. Pikachu and Quilava ran beside Ash, as did Scizor who flew next to Tracy, the bamboo baton clenched in his white fisted hand. Dawn seemed to have little difficulty keeping up with them this time, having quickly become accustomed to running long distances.

The sky above them began to change, from a sea of golden clouds that expanded into the horizon, casting an amber glow on the trees, to a majestic purple and maroon that finally blackened into night.

It was extremely dark inside the forest, making it almost impossible to see even one's own hand in front of their face. Everyone's pokeglov emitted a soft dim white glow, letting them look at the ground and avoid tripping on any roots or rocks.

No one raised their head, following only the sound of the footsteps in front of them.

Noctowl flew beneath the cover of the trees, flying any higher would make it easily spotted by Beedrill patrols.

Occasionally, Samurai would come to an abrupt stop, waiting and listening intently for the slightest sound of a buzz.

Sometimes he would dart for the closest tree and remain still. Everyone mimicked him, each person finding their own tree to hide behind, no shortage of them in the woods. Sometimes, it was sheer paranoia, while others were well founded as a Beedrill patrol hovered past them. No one complained about the false alarms as it kept everyone on their toes.

Despite trying to fall asleep after the morning battle, all those that had tried were unable to. Their bodies rejected the action, anxiety allowing only most of them a small nap at best.

Ash was fighting against his own eyelids for every millimeter they lowered. They had been running for three hours, with their only rest being the times that they hid and blended into the bark. Ash was surprised that Dawn had been able to keep up with them for so long without having to stop to rest.

"_I should give Dawn more credit, she's stronger than she looks,_" Ash pondered, wiping the sweat from his brow.

Suddenly, Samurai's feet shuffled, throwing everyone into action. Dawn darted behind a tree. Ash clung to the tree opposite to her, pressing his body against the bark. The people behind them had an easier time as they had a second or two to pick their hiding spot.

Noctowl perched itself onto a branch in the depths of a cluster of leaves. Samurai had somehow managed to blend the armor he wore into the very trunk of the tree. His stance was one that was ready to strike if necessary.

Ash's heartbeat beat faster and faster as the buzzing became loud enough for Ash to realize that the Beedrill was right next to him. He forced himself to make silent breaths. At a moments notice, Pikachu could easily kill the Beedrill, but Samurai wanted to avoid any contact with them. The Beedrill scanned the area with its crimson glossy eyes; once it was sated, it flew off again.

Once it had gone far enough, everyone left their hiding spots and continued running. There were no words spoken in case the Beedrill was still in earshot.

After two hours the landscape of the forest began to change gradually. The ground was spongier and a different texture, as were the trees.

Their footsteps left in the spongy material were now the only things that proved their existence. No longer did their running create the shuffle of crushed grass, now more of a sickening _squish_.

Every time that they pulled their feet off the substance, a sucking sound came from the separation. The further they went in, the thicker the substance became, the louder the sucking noises, and the harder it was to pull their feet out.

It eventually donned on them that it was wax from the hive; chunks of it now clung to their ankles and pants.

Samurai stopped, but made no attempt to hide. Ash and the others walked over to his side, seeing what lay before them.

From what Brock and Ash guessed, it was bigger, if not equal to the size of Mt. Moon.

No Beedrill patrolled the night sky, except for two large Beedrill that guarded the entrance to the hive. The guard Beedrill were at least the size of Dawn, their glossy crimson eyes ever vigilant.

Samurai tapped Ash shoulder, Ash nodded, looking at Quilava and pointing at the two Beedrill ahead of them. Quilava understood, and like they had rehearsed, it released a slow but large cloud of smoke.

If the Beedrill noticed the smoke, then they did nothing to avoid it as it enveloped them. The cloud lingered around them for five…seven minutes at the most. The Beedrill made no movements, as if nothing had happened.

Samurai swore inside his mind, he had hoped that the smoke would have put them to sleep, but it didn't seem to work on them.

Pikachu darted forward; no one could do anything to stop it as it scampered in front of the guards. Samurai was about to go wild with rage; the mouse's little stunt would cost them their lives.

Ash tapped Samurai's armor, pointing at Pikachu who was waving at the Beedrill and at them.

The Beedrill were actually asleep, they had only slept in the same positions when they were awake. No one knew how long this would last so they ran over as fast as they could over to the entrance.

Under the veil of another smokescreen, Ash summoned Torkoal and positioned both Torkoal and Quilava in front of the entrance. Both of them used smoke screen and sent the cloud into the innards of the hive. After a few minutes, Noctowl blew the smoke screen deeper inside, mostly towards the ceiling.

Everyone entered the hive looking upon the floors, ceilings, and walls with horror and fascination. Every inch of available space was made into a honeycomb. Some were empty and black, while others were covered with a translucent mucus membrane that incubated something inside. Everyone walked carefully across the room, standing only on the hexagonal outlines.

The membrane wasn't impenetrable, the slightest amount of pressure would cause it to tear and reveal the thing inside.

Noctowl entered the hive, ignoring the scenery and focusing on its job of blowing the smoke further into the hive so that it reached every Beedrill. As the smoke began to become less opaque, Quilava and Torkoal added more to the cloud, making it thick once more.

Once everyone got used to maneuvering of the honeycomb floor, it became easy, even for Torkoal who was slower and heavier than the others. They continue to use the dim white light from the Pokéglov to know where to step.

Brock looked up, stopping his movement, making the others look out of curiosity.

Not only was the ceiling incubating hundreds within honeycombs, thousands of Kakuna dangled from stings. Ash wasn't sure if the smoke had reached them, but if it didn't they did nothing. Their black glossy eyes were somewhat glazed over. Maybe they were too far down and hidden by the darkness, maybe it was asleep for one reason or another, or maybe it did see them, and there was nothing they could do about it.

"_Kakuna, the cocoon Pokemon. While awaiting evolution, it hides from predators under leaves and nooks of branches_."

Everyone froze as their Pokéglovs announced the description of the Pokemon for all to hear. The complete and utter silence made the automated voice sound practically booming. Everyone flinched, expecting the worst to come from this sudden mishap, but as the seconds ticked by, nothing happened. Ash and the others else gave a sigh of relief, quickly finding the mute button to their Pokéglovs.

"_That could've gotten us killed._" Unbeknownst to Ash, his thoughts were echoed in everyone else's minds.

* * *

They spent the next few hours maneuvering through the mountain-sized hive, passing through honeycomb cathedral-like hallways that branched outwards. It felt like an eternity, but according to the maps on their Pokéglovs, they had made good progress and were nearly out of the woods. There was no way they could run without rupturing a membrane on the way. In a way, this had allowed them rest since they were walking instead of running.

Everyone's feet were beginning to hurt, but no amount of pain made them brave enough to sit down.

Brock and Tracy seemed more fascinated by this than frightened. It was as if they were looking at an entirely new Pokemon, which in a sense, they were. The removal of the dampeners had changed the very lifestyle of the Beedrill.

Beedrill could now birth Weedle or Weedle would sting another Pokémon not of its species and through the host, it would reproduce. The Weedle would then find its way back to the hive and be placed into one of the honeycombs where it would be feed on honey. After eating enough, it would evolve and turn into a Kakuna. With enough time they would reach the next stage in their evolution, breaking through the membrane and going about its duty as a worker, guard, or scout. The population of Beedrill could easily surpass the amount of humans on the planet in a month if left undisturbed.

Brock hadn't been paying close attention and stepped too far, his foot puncturing through the membrane. Tracy and James quickly grabbed him and hoisted him by the shoulders. Brock's foot was only an inch away from the impregnating stinger of a sleeping Weedle. They lifted him out and moved forward, hissing at him to be more careful.

Whether the Beedrill were only expanding towards the forest, they quickly found a section of the hive that opened up into the sky. Trees that were half covered in the Beedrill's wax could be seen in the distance.

Above them, a single Kakuna wriggled and squirmed within the confines of its own shell. The string above it snapped, letting the Pokémon plunge to the ground below and land directly into an empty honeycomb. The wax cathedral filled with the sounds of cracking and flaking before the Kakuna's skull violently split open. A moment of silence loomed of the group like a heavy fog, watching in equal parts horror and amazement as tiny feeler looking appendages from the inside viciously pried the golden hemispheres apart.

Damp wings unfolded from the yellow shattered husk, red glossy eyes now seeing the world for the first time in a new body. Dawn did her best not to scream as the newly born Beedrill looked at her, seemingly contemplating her. In those few seconds of silence, Dawn could only wondered what would happen next.

"_Maybe since I'm the first thing this Beedrill has seen, maybe it'll think I'm its mother_?"

Dawn was wrong, dead wrong.

The Beedrill emitted an angry buzz, making thousands upon thousands of crimson eyes glow in the darkness surrounding them.

Ash's pointer, middle, and ring fingers flew out, summoning Swellow, Chimchar, and Staravia. Samurai's Pinsir summoned itself while Brock summoned Sudowoodo and Tracy summoned Azumarill. Dawn summoned Prinplup while James summoned Mime Jr.

The little Mime Pokémon created a rectangular path for them, sheltering them from onslaught of needles coming in from all sides. Ash returned Torkoal while Quilava sent a stream of flame to the ceiling; thousands of screeches could be heard as the flames jumped from one Kakuna to the other, baking them from within their own shells. Flaming Kakuna fell into pools of bubbling wax that flooded the floor.

Hunks of wax fell from the roof, melting holes in the protective barrier. A speck of the wax landed on Dawn's shoulder, and despite that it was on top of her clothing, it burned severely. Billions of Poison Stings, and Pin Missiles pinged off the barriers without so much as a scratch. The move had exhausted Mime Jr. of all its energy; if one of the barriers broke, it stayed broken.

Samurai held the rear, dicing hundreds of Beedrill that attempted to enter through the only large entrance in the barriers. Pinsir assisted its friend, beheading and severing many Beedrill. Through the holes in the barrier tunnel, Chimchar set fire to the walls of the hive, cooking the Weedle inside the honeycombs.

The walls of the hive began to melt, the once elegant and organized honeycomb collapsing as they ran.

Prinplup fired small streams of bubble beams through holes in the barriers, succeeding in killing a few Beedrill. Pikachu fired bolt after bolt, setting the Beedrill aflame before landing on the ground and making the flames spread. Ash summoned Glalie, ordering it to use Ice Beam.

Samurai and Pinsir jumped back in surprise when a wall of frozen Beedrill crystallized before them. It was the Stag Beetle Pokémon who first noticed a Weedle that had escaped his master's notice. Its body was coiled into a tight bundle, ready to spring at a moment's notice and aiming for a rare gap in his master's armor that revealed the flesh. Without hesitating, Pinsir blurred into its path, striking at the Harry Bug Pokémon and severing it in two before it could connect.

Samurai sensed the sudden movement behind him and twirled to swing his blade, stopping just short of cutting through his Pinsir's brown carapace. The Stag beetle Pokémon was unnaturally still, too still for his liking. Samurai darted around him, seeing before him one of the nightmares that haunted his every waking hour and every sleeping one as well. At Pinsir's feet laid the bottom half of Weedle, the spike on the head of the other half could be found lodged in his Pokémon's chest.

Samurai's widened eyes mirrored his Pokémon's, their minds still trying to process what had just occurred. Pinsir's eyes slowly lowered to see the remaining half of the Weedle, stabbing through his exoskeleton.

With a shaky claw he grabbed it, wrenching it out of his body and nearly passing out from the pain. Samurai was about to burst forward to catch his stumbling Pokémon until Pinsir held up his free arm, finding his footing at the last second. Whatever bit of life the Weedle clung to was gone as Pinsir crushed the last remaining remnant of its body in his claw, a green gunk oozed out of his version of a fist.

Samurai's sword dipped towards the ground, the blade now trembling in the warrior's grip. The buzzing was gone, everything had slowed down to a standstill, and slowly, but surely, the world darkened to black, until all that mattered now was his only friend in the world. Globules of liquid wax spattered across his armor; Ash's Pikachu immediately killing any Beedrill that approached him.

"Come on! We've got to get out of here!" Ash's muffled yell managing to reach Samurai's ears.

Pinsir gave the approximation of a smile, a weary one, but one nonetheless. He flicked his claws at his master, shooing him away before turning his back to him and facing the encroaching swarm. Volumes were spoken between the two, an understanding that transcended language.

Samurai ran; ran as hard as he could, doing his best to push away the surge of emotions that assailed him. The downpour of hot wax ate holes through Mime Jr.'s Light Screen tunnel as well as overwhelmed the Swarms of Beedrill.

Pinsir sighed and braced himself for the onslaught of stingers, focusing his energy while the barriers held and the hot wax kept the Beedrill occupied. He went through the motions of Samurai's sword stances, feeling a newfound strength course through his veins, along with something more sinister.

He was going to die, of that there was no doubt in his mind. Pinsir's smile took on a more devious tone as he contemplated the number of buzzing bastards he would take with him before he fell. He refused to be someone's first meal as they came into the world; he was going to die on his terms. If this had to be his end, he would make it such an end that would make his master proud.

* * *

Every muscle in Ash's body screamed, his lungs burning with every breath. His stumbles becoming more and more frequent as the race for their lives continued. Sweat poured into Ash's eyes and made them burn, no amount of scrubbing managing to alleviate the irritation. The world around him began to blur, making him feel he was stumbling through the dreamscape.

The sky had grown brighter during their time within the hive; no longer were the stars or moon of the night sky there to greet them. Edges of the morning sun peeked through the distant treetops, the hopeful rays that shined upon them losing their luster with the constant bombardment of the Beedrills.

Waves of the elements intercepted the pursuing swarm as the trainers ran, Ash and Samurai having managed to catch up with the rest of the group. For an arduous twenty-five minutes their Pokémon decimated waves of Beedrill, exhausting every attack in their repertoire. Every few waves the Beedrill gained another few meters on them until Ash and Dawn had to physically bat away their quivering stingers.

Deciding on its own that it could go no further, Ash's legs gave out. His body slid a few feet over the road and remained still. There was no more energy for hope, no more energy for fear. There was only the promise of rest as his body succumbed to, whether through death or otherwise. Ash couldn't help but admit there was kind of comfort in the acceptance of his fate.

The buzz grew into a deafening before being silence in an instant, the shifting shadows of the swarm seemingly brushed away from their sight and into oblivion.

Dawn fell to the ground, his entire body drenched in sweat. Even Samurai and Tracy had reached the limits of their stamina and collapsing onto their backs. One by one the collective party's Pokémon dropped to the ground, few of them barely managing to stay conscious. A single shadow obstructed the light from the shining sun, landing before Ash as if to shield him from its blinding rays.

Ash lifted his head weakly but dropped it halfway, settling for dragging his chin across the dirt and tilting his head to the side. The familiar face of his Pidgeot and those from his flock stood over them, the din of battle between the rest of his flock and the pursuing swarms sounding more and more distant.


	14. Loss and Found

**August 27**

* * *

Brock's eyes fluttered open with the feeling the wind blowing through his dark hair. The former gym leader of Pewter City raised his head from the tuft of feathers he had buried his face in, initially surprised to find himself atop a Pidgeot. Before he could stop himself he gave into his curiosity and found himself staring down a dizzying distance from the earth.

Brock erupted into screams of fright, grabbing the feathers around him for support and receiving an angry squawk from the Pidgeot on the receiving end.

"Hey Brock, be more gentle. They're doing us a favor here," Ash chided, his voice fighting for dominance over the rushing wind.

"A-Ash! What's going on?" Brock yelled out, hugging the Pidgeot's body close to his chest. The tanned teen looked around, seeing that the others were resting atop the other members of the flock

"They're giving us a ride to Pewter City, we've been flying for half an hour. We're pretty heavy and they don't want us to fall off, so we've been going pretty slowly. From what I'm getting on the Pokéglov, we won't be there for a while," Ash explained.

Brock looked at his Pokéglov and saw that Ash was right; they were only a few miles away from his home.

"_It would've taken us a few days to make the trip out of this forest, we would've been long dead by now from the Beedrill if it wasn't for Ash's Pidgeot. We were crazy to think that we could've made through here. But we're here, and we're alive._"

It took the largest Pidgeot to carry Samurai as the armor only added on to his weight. Other than Pikachu and Meowth who were with Ash on his Pidgeot, everyone's Pokemon had been returned to their respective Pokéglovs.

There was nothing Brock could do atop the Pidgeot aside from sightseeing, the very thought of being so high off the ground making him feel queasy. The others had passed out atop their Pidgeots, most likely from exhaustion. Brock decided to follow their example and let slumber take him once more.

* * *

Brock had managed to get half an hour of sleep under his belt before he stirred again, looking down to see that the sea of leaves had diminished substantially as they entered the borderline of the city. The Pidgeot swooped down gently, landing onto the grass on the outskirts of the town and waited for their next order.

The second that Brock tried to walk, his legs buckled instantly and he fell to the ground. Brock tried to get up, but his legs refused to hold him, wobbling as if they were made of jelly.

"Hey guys, time to wake up!" Ash yelled out, probably still filled with adrenaline. The irritated grumbles only grew louder with the reenactment of Brock's boneless act. The initial shock of slamming into the dirt tore the last remnants of slumber, their heads swiveling around so to get their bearings.

It was silent for a few seconds before Brock began to laugh at his complete and utter weakness. What else was there to do? He hadn't the energy to become angry at his situation.

"Might I ask as to what you're laughing about?" Jessie inquired pointedly, blowing a stray strand of crimson hair that dangled over her face.

"I'm alive, and I'm near my hometown, and I'm alive. Did I mention I was alive?" Brock managed through chuckles before eventually bursting into laughter. Brock's mirth quickly became infectious as the rest of them realized how lucky they were to be alive. The Pidgeot stared at them quizzically; unable to understand why they were all in hysterics.

Yet, with every light came its shadow, and Brock was forced to recognize the grim reality of his situation.

"_How many times are we going to dabble with death? I think that we're pressing our luck. We've always been lucky, but there's gonna come a point where it's gonna run out_. _We can't keep doing this_," Brock thought.

The others continued laughing, at times they would stop and calm themselves down, but a single snicker would ignite their laughter once more. Fatigue quickly ate their last ounces of strength and cast the clearing into silence, everyone's head feeling light headed except for Samurai who hadn't laughed once.

Ash's Pidgeot made a series of chirps, Ash turning to Meowth for a translation.

"Pidgeot wants ta apologize for comin so late since its flock was busy fightin the oda Beedrill hive behind us."

Ash nodded, "I can't thank you enough for saving me and m friends twice."

Pidgeot shook its head, Meowth found no reason to translate the gesture as Ash seemed to have gotten the gist of it.

"Hey? Where's Pinsir?" Dawn asked, having already counted the number of heads among her twice.

"He…stayed behind, to hold them off. It…it was too late for him," Samurai unveiled, struggling with the words as he said them.

A tense moment of silence hung over them, a moment to mourn the loss of one of their own, regardless for however brief it was.

No one was in any mood to move anytime soon, even Brock had no energy despite the fact that they were so close to his old home. With their last bits of strength they pulled out their sleeping bags. Ash checked his things, seeing that the package that Oak had given him was still in one piece.

Pikachu jumped into his sleeping bag and nuzzled him, Ash wrapped his arms around the yellow ball of fur against his chest and heard a squeal of content. Ash was surprised at how quickly everything began to darken despite it being the crack of dawn, not realizing that his adrenaline had run out.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when Ash began to stir out of his slumber, seeing that a dozen Pidgeot still surrounded them. Their backs were turned, keeping guard not only from the ground, but in the trees above them and in the skies as well.

"He doesn't have to go so far," Ash said, sitting up, seeing that Pikachu was no longer near him. Ash didn't have to search far to find Pikachu standing next to Pidgeot as an addition to their forces.

Ash squirmed out of his sleeping bag, finding it a little easier to move but his muscles were still sore. Pidgeot and Pikachu noticed his movement and left the ring of protection, only to have it filled by another two of Pidgeot's subordinates.

"Thanks for all of this Pidgeot, it means a lot to me. Don't you think that it's a bother to your flock?" Ash asked.

Pidgeot shook its head, Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulders while he looked his to see what time it was. Upon seeing the clock he scrambled over to everyone, shoving them into consciousness.

Ash had moved onto Samurai when he noticed that there had been trails of dried tears on his face. He tapped the armor until Samurai woke up, the warrior quickly turning away to rub away the dried tears.

Ash moved away, making no comment about what he had seen as it would've hurt Samurai's pride. Once everyone was awake they mounted a Pidgeot that would take them to Pewter City.

Samurai was the last to get on a Pidgeot, placing his helmet on before looking into the heart of the forest. He stared at it for a few seconds, turning away and never looking back at it once. He promised himself that he would return here one day, even if it killed him.

* * *

They didn't have to fly long, reaching border Pewter city within minutes. Ash looked down, seeing the terrain suddenly plateaued, remembering that Brock's father, Flint, had been lying there when he first entered the city. From a distance, Brock pointed out the direction of his gym amidst the abandoned city.

Houses were completely intact but noticeably vacant; the town was a shadow of its former self in every sense of the word. In a way, it was comforting to them to think that the entire town had left instead of being wiped out by Pokemon.

The Pewter city gym's features began to become more distinguished as they drew closer. Pidgeot and the flock carrying the rest of the group swooped down, landing directly in front of the gym.

Brock dismounted, staring at his gym, untouched by the horrors that the world had been subjected to. He suppressed a sigh of relief, knowing that the integrity of the gym would mean nothing if the people he cared about were no longer there. Each person hopped off his or her mount, following Brock to the entrance of the gym. Ash's old Pidgeot accompanied them; the rest of his entourage flew into the air circled above the gym.

Brock pushed the doors open; the only thing visible was a curtain of ominous blackness. Everyone turned the lights on their Pokéglovs to max, succeeding in only penetrating a few inches of the darkness.

"Pikachu, do you think you could gives a little more light?" Ash asked. Pikachu nodded and entered the blackness. After a few seconds, a small glow blossomed in the dark; small sparks danced from Pikachu's crimson cheeks. Yet, once again, it was not enough to illuminate the entire room. No one really felt secure going into a room without knowing what could be in there.

"Pachirisu, come out and help Pikachu, do the same thing that Pikachu's doing." Dawn spoke into her Pokéglov.

"Noctowl, come on out," Ash's Pokéglov captured the vibrations in the air and registered the command. Two bursts of light revealed Pachirisu and Noctowl, the latter perching on Ash's shoulder. Brock walked into the shadows without warning, no one said anything, knowing that nothing they said would deter him.

"Noctowl, do you see anything like a Pokemon inside there?" Ash asked. Noctowl's eyes turned violet, its head swiveling to and fro, never stopping on a specific direction. The glow eventually faded away and Noctowl looked at Ash, shaking its head in response.

This bit of news was comforting, but not enough to make them not hesitate to enter the dark building. Just because there was no Pokemon, didn't mean that there were no other dangers.

"Ash, we may need more Pokémon" Dawn suggested. Ash nodded and spoke into his Pokéglov, summoning Quilava and Chimchar.

From what they could see, everything inside was intact; there were no signs of struggle, invasion, or evacuation. The rock field for gym battles had been activated and stayed that way.

"Doesn't look like there's any power," James remarked.

"This is why we keep you here James, to tell us things that we don't already know ourselves, what would we ever do without you?" Jessie sighed, the sarcasm oozing from her lips.

"Ya jus got promoted ta Admiral Obvious," Meowth added.

"No need to bite my head off, I'm just thinking out loud," James stated.

"Dat might be cause its built lika rock,"

Brock had already crossed halfway past the rugged terrain when Ash and the others started.

"Mom…Dad…Tommy…Susie…Forrest!" Brock yelled out, his voice echoed off the walls. Ash withheld his questions, recalling that Flint had hinted that Brock's mother had died.

"Cindy…Jimmy…Terrance…Sandy" Brock cried out as he reached the end of the building. He headed to the living quarters of the gym, searching every room yelling out the names of his siblings.

"Cornelia…Doug…" Brock's voice began to trail off until the names were barely above a whisper. His shoulders slumped, his chest and back heaving momentarily before regaining his composure and searching again.

"It's me Brock, I'm back…I'm…"

Dawn wanted to cry, Ash lowered his cap, Tracy and Samurai crossed their arms, Jessie, James, and Meowth closed their eyes. The Pokémon did the same as a sign of respect.

No one had gone inside expecting the worse, but it wasn't like the thought hadn't occurred to them. It was always well within possibility what could've happened, that little tidbit of knowledge never fully left them and constantly nagged them in the back of their minds.

Brock frantically tried to grasp at some kind of lifeline, invent some reasonable excuse as to why no one was here.

"_The town…must've evacuated. They're still probably safe…but where can I find them? I can't ask Ash and the others to go off searching aimlessly for my family, but I don't want to go alone…"_

"Brock?" the gravely voice said, catching the attention of everyone in the room. The source had come from a corner of the room, shrouded in shadow, more so than the rest of the gym.

"D-Dad?" Brock said incredulously, his voice beginning to crack.

"Son, is that really you?" the man repeated.

"It's me dad!" Brock assured.

Flint was taken off guard as son lunged at him, almost tackling him to the floor with his embrace. Flint's hands were outstretched for a few seconds before his fatherly instincts took hold and did the same.

Everyone else was silent; the only sound was of Flint's hands sliding over the fabric on Brock's back. It sounded loud in the contrasting silence. Brock and his father couldn't help but shed a few tears on each other's shoulders, their embraces still tight.

I'm so happy you're alive, dad," Brock muffled as he dried his tears on his father's shirt.

"Me too son, your mother and I were worried sick thinking that you were out with all craziness going on," Flint replied, wiping a tear away with his finger. Brock slid out of his father's hug, both of them standing in front of each other for a few seconds.

"Where's everyone else?" Brock asked, struggling to regain his composure but unable to hide the fact that he was beaming.

"They're all fine, they're all going to go crazy once they see that you're alive. We've hidden beneath the gym instead of evacuating. I see that you've brought along a few friends of yours. They can come as well, there's plenty of room and supplies for them."

Flint started heading towards the corner of the gym from which he appeared, stopping just before the dark corner to see if they were following him. Everyone began to walk towards the corner, the ex-rockets drying their tears from the touching father and son moment.

Flint kneeled low to the ground, his palms scanning the ground for something embedded in the rock. Ash assisted him by aiming the light from his Pokéglov in the general direction of where he searched. This helped immensely for what Flint was searching, finding it in seconds. It was a manhole slightly covering a dark hole in the floor. He moved out of the way, beckoning them into the hole. Dawn instinctively backed away.

"We're going into the sewers? I-I don't think I can do that. I think I'd rather stay outside with the Pidgeot," the blunette said, looking at Jessie for some assistance but to no avail. Jessie had gone through worse conditions than sewers; she didn't see the problem.

"Alright then, suit yourself, but we have a working bathroom that's incredibly clean down there, along with all the toiletries like shampoo and conditioner," Flint mentioned innocently, having his fair share of experience with several daughters of his own.

Something inside Dawn clicked, her mind had blocked out all the other unimportant words that had come out of Flint's mouth, choosing only to hear the select words like bath, shampoo, and clean. Discarding caution to the wind, she ran over to the hole and shined her light down it. She found a stepladder at the base of the manhole, hopping onto it for dear life and sliding down the rest of the way.

"She must really want a shower," Ash couldn't help but comment as he decided to go next. One by one, they all went, Flint went in last, and closing the manhole over the entrance.

He slid down to meet everyone at the base of the ladder waiting for him. The sewers were surprisingly well lit ever since Flint had taken the initiative of setting up lights to make the back to the base. Two switches that were hidden at the entrance of the sewers and back at the base could control the lights.

Flint led the way, everyone following silently and without questions. After what seemed like a few minutes, they reached a dead end. They all stopped except for Flint, who walked over to the wall, knocking on it.

A loud grinding sound came from wall as it began to slide to the left, revealing what was behind it. The room behind the wall was surprisingly homey considering where they were. All of Brock's siblings were scattered across the room either playing, taking a nap, or with their mother.

"Honey, Brock's home!" Flint's voice boomed, getting the attention of everyone in the room. The clatter of spoons and pans was heard from the kitchen as Brock's mother, Lola, rushed over to her son at the entrance. Brock's brothers and sisters took a few seconds to react before all stampeding towards him.

Lola proceeded to cover every inch of Brock's face with her kisses, hugging him tightly and crying at the same time. Ash and the others moved out of the way to allow the rest of Brock's family surround him and bury him underneath the flurry of arms that wrapped around him in an attempt to hug him. It looked as though Brock was lost underneath all those people for a few moments. Flint had to forcibly remove his wife from Brock, reminding her that Brock needed to breathe.

Brock went and hugged every one of his siblings, having something unique and special to say to each individual. Flint had his arms wrapped around his wife's waist from behind, snuggling into her hair lovingly. She hugged her arms and pressed against him, turning to give him a kiss on the cheek and smile while she cried. Once Brock was down, he moved to give a proper greeting to his parents.

It was a heartwarming sight, making Dawn temporarily forget that there was a bathroom down in this place. She began to look around, noticing that this place made one completely forget that they were in a sewer in the first place. The place was as large as the gym itself, maybe even larger.

Couches lined the walls, the ground covered in scattered carpets. Some rugs were hung from the walls, as well as drapes, and portraits. A random assortment of playthings were scattered across the floor and the tops of the tables like toys and puzzles.

There was a television and a radio but no signal was coming through so they were turned off. At the end of each wall were dozens of rooms like the kitchen, living room, and bathroom.

Dawn felt that it would be rude to rush instantly to the bathroom without introducing herself; it was their house after all. Both Flint and Lola kissed one side of Brock's cheek, each of them hugging an arm. They pulled away to look at their son, remembering that they had other visitors.

"Oh, how rude of us. We apologize for ignoring you," Lola said, wiping a stray tear from her eye.

"It's quite all right ma'am," Tracy replied for all of them.

"Well Brock, introduce us to your friends," Lola urged.

Brock went and introduced each person, keeping Ash last as his father and Ash had met before. His siblings stood by their parents, watching as Brock introduced the newcomers.

"It's great to see you again Ash," Flint said, slamming his hand onto the raven-haired youth's shoulder.

"You all look like you've been through a lot, you must be all tired. I'll run you all a bath and wash your clothes for you," Lola offered.

Dawn looked like she could cry of happiness.

"I think that this is the perfect time to celebrate, let's have a feast once you guys have cleaned up," Flint announced.

Ash and the ex rocket trio looked like he could cry of happiness.

* * *

Tracy, Brock, James, and Ash sat quietly in the steaming water of the bath. Samurai had peeled away all of his armor. His skin was paler than all of them, probably due to the fact that he had been wearing the armor for more than a week and hadn't taken it off. Dozens of scars criss crossed his body, some of them from years back, others only a few days old. The bath was more like giant Jacuzzi, being half the length of a pool and almost just as deep.

Their towels were wrapped around their waists as they soaked in silence.

"I'm…glad that your family's alright, Brock," Ash said, doing his best to sound sincere.

Brock noticed the subtle exertion Ash put forth to sound nice, he knew full well where the tension stemmed from.

Brock had been able to see his family while everyone in Ash's town had been killed. The former gym leader understood his resentment, his envy.

Ash fought against this, knowing full well that he should be happy that Brock had found his family safe in sound. Yet, the shadow of a thought in the back of his mind silently wished that he would not be alone in his suffering.

Ash knew this was wrong, pushing the thought away as far as he could, but he knew that it would be like his shadow.

"…Thanks, Ash," Brock replied.

"How long are we staying?" Ash asked, his hands in a flurry of movement as he scrubbed his hair with shampoo before dunking his head in the water.

"What?" Brock scoffed in disbelief, "What do you mean how long are we going to be staying?"

" I'm not asking you, I asking them," Ash motioned towards Tracy, James, and Samurai. "I can't stay here. I'll rest here for a couple of days, but I'm gotta head out once I've gotten my strength back."

"Why not? There's nothing wrong with this place; we're safe! Safer than we've been all week! We can finally rest and take a breather!" Brock yelled.

"Don't take it personally Brock, this has nothing to do with this place or your family."

"Why Ash? Why can't you stay?"

"I don't intend to sit and hide here until I die. I've got stuff to do; I wanna find what made the Pokémon like this. I promised Dawn I'd find her mom, I need to know that Misty, May, and Max are still alive. I have to let Gary know about professor Oak," Ash said calmly.

Brock's hand rose up to cover his face, "You're gonna put Dawn in danger going out there."

"We'll be fine, I'll have Pikachu and my Pokemon with me, I won't be going alone either, right Samurai?" Ash said, nodding in Samurai's direction.

Samurai nodded back, "I shall accompany you, I have no reason to stay here"

Brock turned towards Tracy, as did Ash, awaiting his answer.

"You said you wanted to find a safe place for the Pokémon in Oak's ranch, this is that place!" Brock said.

"I'm sorry Brock, I don't think this is the place I had in mind. You have your family here, I can't afford to bring anything here that might hurt them. This is your family's home, I have no right to make it into my base."

Ash nodded in approval while Brock kicked the water angrily.

"I could talk to them, I know they would agree to help!"

"Brock, you don't need to get so angry, it's not like I'm asking you to leave your family."

I…I don't want you to leave. You guys are my best friends; you're like a part of my family. I've spent years with you, and now you want me to stand by with a smile on my face while you go and do something stupid that's going to get you all killed! You think I can just stand by and let you leave to your deaths; I might as well take my family with you on your journey."

"Brock, that's stupid. Your family will be a target anywhere we go, it's better if we keep the group small. You don't have much of a choice, either you stay with your family, which we can't bring with us, or you leave your family to go with us," Ash explained.

"We know that you would prefer to stay with you family, your family wants you here, with them…where they feel is safer." Samurai added.

James had remained silent throughout the entire argument, his eyes switching back and forth between the speakers. It took him a few seconds to realize that it suddenly became silent, and that everyone's eyes were aimed at him.

"What about you James? You have as much say in this as the rest of us. You're part of the group now," Tracy commented.

James looked back and forth, "Well, it's really not up to me. I tend to go where Meowth and Jessie go."

"What if it were up to you, what would you do? If you decided where Meowth and Jessie went?"

James was silent, contemplating the scenario in his head. It wasn't every day that someone asked him to make difficult decisions and to think a lot. He weighed the pros and cons of his choice. Should they stay, they would be in the home of a stranger that they had never even met before.

They would be safe, safer than if they went on Ash's journey. Then again, if they went with Ash, they would be around company that knew them. Living with Brock's family would be a constant lie, would Brock tell them of their history with Ash? Would they get kicked as soon as their pasts were revealed? There would always be the temptation of doing wrong. Without Ash and Tracy to keep them on the right path, they might falter and fall back to old habits.

He would have to talk this over with Jessie and Meowth, but he had to decide at the moment. Whether his decision decided what him and the other two did affected them or not, he had his answer.

"I personally would go with Ash, I'm not sure about Jessie and Meowth, but I think they might agree with me."

Ash couldn't help but be surprised, not by James' decision, but by the fact that he hadn't needed to correct himself when referring to him by his name, and not the label of "Twerp" that they'd assigned to him over the years.

Brock waded away angrily, water sloshing and rippling everywhere as he headed for the exit.

"Wait, Brock!" Ash called out, watching as Brock stopped at once, but not turning to face him.

"Brock…are we still…friends?" Ash asked timidly, expecting the worst. The gap of silence felt more like hours rather than seconds for Ash until Brock spoke again.

"Yes, Ash. We're still friends. This wouldn't be so difficult if we weren't."

Without another look or word, Brock left the bath.

* * *

Dawn was in heaven, or at least what she considered would be heaven at the moment. She felt cleaner than she had been all week, knowing that all the blood, sweat, and dirt was gone.

She floated across the pool-like bath, her dark blue hair flowing out beneath her. Jessie was lounging at the shallow edge of the bath, her crimson hair cocooned in a towel. They had washed each other's hair just a few minutes before. Now Dawn was just relaxing in the steaming water.

"Dawn, I'm leaving, I'm gonna pass out from the heat if I don't leave, you should to unless you want that to happen," Jessie said as she lifted herself out. She swam to the edge, Jessie's hand pulling her out of the bath and handing her a towel.

* * *

One by one, everyone began leaving the bath, Ash being the last one there. He sat there alone for a few minutes before the silence began to annoy him and he left. Flint was there waiting for him, his clothes were clean and folded for him in a neat square.

Brock was nowhere to be seen, James and Tracy were changing into their clothes. Samurai had been given a pair clothes that they thought would fit him instead of wearing the armor to the dinner table. Samurai wasn't exactly comfortable with this condition but complied nonetheless since he was in a stranger's home and being shown hospitality.

Ash slid into his clothes enjoying that they had been recently ironed. He met Dawn and Jessie outside of the laundry room, Dawn was especially happy with her clean clothes.

"How did you get this done so quickly?" Dawn asked, motioning towards her clothes and the food.

"Everyone was happy to pitch in, besides we've got so many rooms to spare, we don't know what to do with them. When everyone evacuated we took the liberty of taking what they left behind and put it to good use. Ovens, Washing machines, heaters, tools, and food; we've got enough to run a hotel. We have enough food to support my family and all of you here for a few years. We've rerouted most of the energy and water systems to this area. Whatever wasn't taken when the town evacuated, we've inherited. We've been working like Beedrill these past few days, building this place from scratch."

"How did you build all of this?" Ash asked, seeing all the rooms and the vastness of the area. Flint whistled once, the shrill tone echoed off the walls, then came the rumbling. Seven figures appeared before them, one of them was resting atop the largest of the figures. Brock sat atop his Steelix with Ludicolo to his right, Crobat was perched on his shoulder. To his left was a Golem that Ash presumed was Brock's old Geodude. Swampert stood in the center, directly beneath Steelix.

"These guys and my wife's Pokemon have been helpful in excavating this entire place and making it home worthy," Flint explained.

Lola rang a tiny bell, the chime catching the attention to everyone at the table. All the food had been served; all of Brock's siblings were already at the table. The food was glistening and steaming in all its glory.

Ash, James, and Jessie were practically drooling at the sight of the food. Pikachu, Meowth, and Pidgeot approached them. Pikachu sprinted over, leaping onto Ash's shoulder, Meowth joining both Jessie and James. Everyone took their seats and gave thanks for the food.

"Well everyone, dig in" Lola and Flint urged.

* * *

Ash was stuffed, as was Pikachu while they were lying in their beds. Tracy and Samurai rested in the beds next to him. They said nothing, but they were content with their meal.

Dawn and Jessie were in another room and were probably already sleeping. Pidgeot had left to tell its flock its whereabouts so not to worry them. Flint had accompanied Pidgeot to help it find its way out. Ash was beginning to feel slumber take him as well, Pikachu's soft snores were not helping. Brock cautiously entered the room, standing before Ash in the darkness.

"Aren't you going to sleep with your family?" Ash asked drowsily.

"I am, but…"

"But…"

"Is… Is there any way I can convince you to not go?" Brock asked, his tone desperate.

Ash was silent for a few seconds, "No Brock, there isn't any way."

Brock's shoulder's slumped and he began to walk away, "Can't say that I didn't try," he sighed.

"Hey Brock," Ash whispered, "don't let our decision ruin the last few days we have together, okay?"

Brock turned, looking at Ash and staring at him for a long time.

"Yeah…sure" Brock replied before leaving the room. That was the last thing that Ash heard before he fell asleep.

All the lights had been turned off making Brock have to walk through the dark, to his room.

"_Everyone must be asleep_," Brock thought until something grabbed his shoulder. Brock whirled around and jumped back, it took everything Brock had not to scream.

"Calm down. It's me, son," Flint hissed through the blackness.

"Dad! What're you doing here? You scared the crap out of me, I might've screamed and woken everyone up."

"Sorry son, I just wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

"It's about your friends leaving" Flint clarified.

Brock was shocked and speechless for a few seconds, trying to think of what to say next.

"How…how do you know about that?" Brock asked.

"Everyone knows. We heard you shouting in the bath, it's not like it's soundproof."

"Sorry."

"Look, I'm speaking on behalf of everyone here, and it's okay. We don't mind. This is the least we can do for the people that kept you alive for so long."

Ash and everyone else had taken the opportunity to explain in detail their entire journey during the feast. There were many oohs and aahs, the way Ash, Meowth, and James told the story, managing to keep Brock's family on the edge despite the obvious outcome.

"Besides, we're not their parents, if they want to go, that's their decision, if they want to stay, that's great. We don't want them to die as much as you don't, but we respect what they feel they need to do. We don't know if they're walking to their deaths, they might be safe because they've got such powerful Pokémon with them. We don't know, but all we can do is wish them the best of luck, and make their days here as comfortable as possible before they go."

"I just…I just want them to be safe, they're my best friends."

"We know, and that's why we would understand if you decided to go with them."

"Leave with them! I just got here! Why would I go with them?" Brock whispered loudly.

"Because they're your friends, and we're sure that you would still be safe with them. Face it Brock, you'd be happy here for a while, but then you would get bored and miss them. You'd be worried about them day and night and it would stress you out to no end. If you left, at least you would know that we were safe here. That's why you came here in the first place, to see if we were okay, and we are. Sure we'll miss you and worry about you, but we at least know now that you're in good and powerful company.

We didn't know your situation before, but now we do, and it makes us worry less. I think you and your friends can handle themselves, you've gotten this far already. Just know that we would respect your decision if you chose to leave."

"Dad, I'm not leaving, tell everyone that I'm not leaving," Brock declared.

"You don't have to make your decision now, you can sit on it for a few days."

"I have made my decision," Brock nearly yelled.

"You say that now, but wait until it's time, then you can give us the answer you said tonight or something different."

Flint walked away, leaving Brock standing alone in the darkness.


	15. Hand That Feeds You

**August 29**

* * *

The next three days went by smoothly, it was exactly what they all needed. Ash and company got to know all of Brock's siblings individually. Everyone's Pokémon were released so to impress the kids, as well as allow them a chance to let them mingle with the other Pokémon while they healed.

Flint and Lola did their best to help them recover, using the medical supplies that they had at hand. They weren't made for the Pokemon usage, but they got the job done. Despite it being a week since the fight with the Fearow the wounds healed slowly. They would've healed faster had there been a working Pokémon center.

Most of the rooms had been put to use, there was a swimming pool room that was twice as large as the bathrooms were. A game room was also included; most of the abandoned games and systems that children had left behind during the evacuation were now theirs. The plethora of games assured that it would take a solid year before they played them all and became bored of them.

Even then, the entire town had yet to be searched, meaning that there may still be other games and systems that they hadn't discovered. There was a toy room for all the discarded board games and toys. The toys themselves were piled together into a mountain that was even taller than Snorlax.

Food was the same; there was still plenty of food that remained preserved inside unchecked houses. As a precaution, Flint kept the power running on in the city so that refrigerated food would not spoil in the fridges before they found them.

If necessary there could've been rooms made to accommodate everyone's Pokemon to a single room. This environment made it perfect for them to do hide and seek when the kids wanted to play.

As much fun as this was for Ash, by the second day he had become bored. He made sure that no one noticed him. The feeling wasn't directed at Brock's family, or the activities, but at the place itself. He wondered how he was going to tell Brock's family, wondering if Brock hadn't already told them. If he did, they hadn't changed their attitudes at all towards them.

Ash was lounging on one of the many couches against the wall. His feet had been propped up on one of the tables, his very posture emitting the caliber of his boredom. Should anyone approach him, he would pretend to be asleep, his only excuse being that he had been having so much fun that he was tired out.

"_One more day, one more day until we leave. It feels so far away. It feels like I've been here a week, not two days. How do I even know if I have been here for that long? We haven't gone up to the surface all this time, breathing all this filtered air. It's not like I hate this place? I don't hate the people or the things that I've been doing here? I feel that every day that I stay here it could be too late for Gary, and Misty. I wonder if_-"

"Ash? Ash wake up" Dawn said gently, poking Ash on his cheek. His eyes shot open; Dawn was caught off guard by the suddenness.

Oh, um…sorry. I'm sorry go back to sleep," She said, backing away.

"No, no it's fine, it's fine." Ash sighed, doing his best to act contrary to what he was feeling. Ash stretched in an effort to look like he had actually slept, peeking through the lids of his eyes at her expression. She wore her normal outfit, minus her hat and donning a pink apron that Lola had given her.

For the past few days, Lola and Brock had been teaching Dawn how to cook, she had helped serve all the meals for the past two days and picked up a few skills as well as some hints. This would be vital since Brock wouldn't be traveling with them anymore.

Ash fell back into the couch, no longer peeking but staring directly at her. He couldn't help but notice the certain glow she had around her, like an aura steaming off of her. The feeling washed over him and sucked him in. She was happy, happier than she had been all week, and for good reason.

Ash had yet to tell her that they were leaving, for all she knew, she might have thought that they were staying here forever.

"_How am I gonna break it to her? I could use the fact that her mother is still out there? She must still be thinking about that, right? She can't have forgotten her mother. But, why else would she seem so happy and carefree, it's like she's forgotten about the outside world. Would she stay with them? I hope not, but then again that may be best. I could search for her mother and bring her back here, where they would both be safe. I'll have to ask her._"

"Umm…do I have something on my face?" Dawn asked, a tinge of pink coloring her cheeks.

"Uh, no. Sorry, I kinda dazed off there. I'm still kind of sleepy. So…what did you need?" Ash asked.

"Uh…there's something that I cooked up and I wanted to know if it was edible," She explained.

"_Great_," Ash gave a mental sigh while trying to uphold a smile of enthusiasm.

"Sure…" he replied reluctantly, Dawn smiled and grabbed him by the arm, yanking him off the couch.

* * *

Ash wiped his mouth, nodding to himself, "She's definitely getting better at this cooking thing."

"Did you like it?" Dawn asked, her eyes full of hope. Ash's next words would have to be careful seeing as they would have repercussions.

"It was great Dawn, you're an excellent cook," Ash said, not an ounce of deceit in his voice or a doubt in his mind.

It was incredible the amount of things and improvements that she had made in two days. Then again, she had to help prepare meals for Brock's entire family, their group, and herself.

"Awesome, thanks Ash. Now I know that I can help cook once we're on the road again," She beamed. Ash looked at her as she jumped for joy around the table.

"_So she hasn't forgotten_," his thoughts echoed.

"We leave tomorrow," Ash said, bringing her hopping to a stop. She stopped and looked at him quizzically for a second before smiling again and nodding.

"Oh, alright, I'll start getting my things ready for tomorrow then. When are we leaving?"

"Dawn" Ash replied flatly, she stared at him for a second.

"What?" She asked.

"Oh, right. Um…I mean, we leave in the morning," Ash corrected himself.

"Okay, let me just take care of this then," She giggled at the unintended joke, taking his plate and heading to the kitchen to wash it.

Ash sighed out loud, leaning back and balancing on the two back legs of the chair.

"Restless as well?" Samurai asked. Ash nearly tipped over, quickly regaining his balance and slamming into the dinner table, causing all the silverware to clatter. He turned, seeing that Samurai was back in fully polished armor, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"I had a talk with them and they've agreed to come along as well," James added as he entered the conversation. Ash got up from his chair and nodded to each of them. At that moment, Dawn left the kitchen, the apron no longer on her as she walked quickly to her room to get ready.

Ash was heading back to the couch when Pikachu, Pidgeot, and Meowth approached him.

"What's up guys?" Ash asked while Pikachu jumped onto his head making Ash chuckle.

"We're leavin tamorrow, right?" Meowth inquired.

"Yeah, why?" Ash replied.

"We've ben talkin wit Pidgeot an we jus came ta tell ya dat da Pidgeot an da rest of da flock ain't comin wit us."

"What! Why?" Ash said, his expression full of shock.

"Here's da ting. Da flock really likes it here, dey don't wanna leave, an your Pidgeot has ta do wat's best for da flock. Eva since dey had deir dampeners removed, de've been wantin ta hunt, kill, an eat. Now dat Pokémon don't have ta only eat Pokémon food, plants, berries dey prefer oder creatures. When you found em, your Pidgeot was fightin against dem so dat dey wouldn't attack and kill humans that also taste good ta dem. Da ting is, here, dey've been fighting da Beedrill from da hive we jus got past. Da Beedrill are no match against da flock, an dey never run out since da hive is like a Beedrill factory. Da Beedrill have a one track mind an keep comin ta kill da flock. In oder words, da flock has a stable food supply an dey get to hunt der food down which makes it even betta for dem. Da idea of movin doesn't work well wit dem. If your Pidgeot tries ta force em, der might be a mutiny."

But they'll stay in this area, right" Ash asked, Staring at his Pidgeot. It nodded back, and gave Ash a little relief. He had planned on the flock flying them to where they needed to go. It would make things easier for them since they wouldn't have to deal with that many wild Pokemon or walk.

Now with that advantage taken from them, things would take a lot longer and possibly be a lot more difficult. But they were staying here at least; things could still go according to plan.

"Pidgeot, do you think that you could have your flock protect Brock's family, or would that be too much?"

Pidgeot chirped something to Meowth, who translated it for Ash.

"Your Pidgeot says dat der will be no problem protectin da family, an der will be no attempts made on der life. It will be on da honor of da entire flock."

Pidgeot nodded, Ash smiled and nodded in return, walking past them and slumping back onto the couch. Ash pulled his cap over his eyes, closing them as he tried to sleep the rest of the day, hoping that the next to he woke up, it would be the day of their departure.

* * *

"You have everything?" Ash asked, to which Dawn threw him an irritable look.

"Yes Ash, I have everything. I started packing yesterday," the blunette grumbled.

Ash looked around, seeing James, Jessie, Meowth, Tracy, and Samurai, all ready to go. Everyone's Pokemon were safely inside their Pokéglovs, Ash's Pidgeot already outside getting the some of its flock for one last favor. They walked over to Flint, having leaned against the wall standing at the entrance, waiting for them. Flint walked over to Ash, patting him on the shoulder.

"I want to thank you for taking care of my son. He probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. We've been expecting this day, and we've hoped that your stay here was as comfortable as possible."

Ash looked around, "Where's Brock?"

Flint was silent for a few seconds before replying, "Brock found it too hard to say goodbye."

"Oh…okay," the young trainer, replied, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"But look who came to see you goodbye," Flint chuckled, pointing over Ash's shoulder.

Lola and all of Brock's siblings, minus Brock were there, waving at them. Everyone else waved back, Tracy walked over to them.

"I almost forgot to give this to you before I left" Tracy began, searching through his backpack before pulling out a Pokéglov. He handed it Lola, "this is a Pokéglov like the ones we have. If you put it on, it will be bound to you and no one else can use it. There's a tutorial to explain most of the functions it has. The reason I'm giving it to you is that it can be used like a phone; this way, no matter how far we are, we can keep in touch. You'll have to go above ground for a better signal though."

Lola was overjoyed, giving Tracy a tight hug while Brock's siblings talked in the background. Ash could vaguely hear them wonder out loud if they were going to receive something as well. Tracy started to walk away to the disappointment of the kids; Lola fitted the Pokéglov over her arm, the Pokéglov beginning to whir to life, bonding with her instantly.

"Thank you Tracy, thank you so much" Lola expressed her gratitude, her eyes brimming with tears.

The former sketcher didn't expect her to get so emotional over such a gift. He turned to Flint, "Oh, sorry Flint, I don't have any-"

"It's all right, Tracy. I understand. Let's get out of here," Flint concluded, walking towards the grinding and sliding door.

Flint stopped at the ladder; he turned off the lights throwing everything into darkness.

"This is where we say goodbye" Flint said his farewell and backed away behind the curtain of black. They stood there in silence, Ash taking the initiative and exiting first. He walked blindly, his hand wavering, grasping at air until it brushed against the cold steel.

Being in the sewers with water everywhere made it dangerous for Pikachu to make any form of light through electricity.

Pikachu held onto Ash's hat as he rose up, the electric mouse telling him to stop right below the manhole cover. Ash's hand rose up to push the cover off which took a bit of effort. The sudden push made Ash lose his balance, gravity began to tug at him, making him fall. Something grabbed his wrist, pulling him out of the sewers and setting him on his feet onto the stone ground.

Pikachu jumped off Ash, scampered over a few feet before lighting up the area with sparks from its cheeks. Ash nearly jumped back in surprise, the light washing the darkness away revealed the tan face, the squinted eyes, and the dark hair from a familiar face.

"Brock! What're you doing here?" Ash asked incredulously.

"What does it look like? I going with you" Brock said indifferently as he walked over and helped the next person up. One by one, Brock helped up and shocked the travelers out of the manhole.

They walked out of the gym, the brightness of the morning sun causing them all to groan from discomfort of the light. Once their eyes adjusted, they saw that there were several Pidgeot waiting for them.

"Ash, why are they here?" Dawn asked.

"It's the last favor that they're doing for me," Ash explained, walking over to them. Pikachu hopped onto Pidgeot's head, Ash mounted its back. Everyone did the same without any questions.

"They're gonna drop us off at the next town," Ash elaborated just as his Pidgeot and the others began to fly.

Inside the gym, a manhole cover slid across the ground and fit perfectly over a single dark hole.

* * *

Ash and Brock looked down, watching Mt. Moon pass them by. James was the first to point out the trail that had been carved out on the side of the mountain. Jessie and Meowth also took notice, remembering how they rode the giant moonstone in an attempt to escape with it. Ash wondered if Seymour was still alive down there, could the Clefairy or Clefable have killed him? Curiosity would probably get them into more trouble if they went to check.

* * *

Everyone knew they were getting close to their destination when the Pidgeot began to descend. Ash managed to get a good look at the town before they got too low, unsurprised to find the town vacant of all life like Pewter.

Ash and the others began to dismount, waving goodbye as the Pidgeot flew away. Once they were too far to be seen, Ash began walking towards the center of town. He knew exactly where he wanted to go, his feet gliding across the ground with purpose. Brock looked around, it had really been bugging him that the towns were evacuated. There were no signs of struggle or death. How could they be alerted to evacuate, if everything was technologically cut off. No one was able to make a far distance call, so something must've made everyone leave.

The others struggled a little to catch up with Ash; they didn't question where he was going just yet, and after fifteen minutes they say what he was looking for.

"Ash, why are we stopping here?" Dawn asked, both her and Brock walking and stopping next to Ash, standing before the Cerulean City gym.

"There's a really good friend of mine that might be in there, I have to go check," Ash said sternly, making his way towards the broken automatic doors. His fingers pried in-between the gaps, forcefully sliding them open.

No damage, no lights, and no noises greeted him once he entered.

Pikachu hopped off Ash's and led the way; poised to strike should any poor wild Pokémon decide it wanted to die today.

"We shall remain out here to secure the entrance, besides, if we all went in, then we would be easy pray in a cramped hallway," Samurai pointed out.

Ash nodded before pressing further into the gym and turning the corner, just out of Samurai's sight.

"_Should I call out to her? She could be alive and hear me, or would that just get the attention of any wild Pokémon that are in here? Pikachu could take them easily, but Dawn and Brock might get hurt,_" Ash debated.

All four of them had adorned the mask of silence, doing their best not to make a single noise unless it was necessary. Eventually, they reached the fighting arena where Ash had fought Misty for the gym badge. The waters were still; all the floating platforms were gone and stacked on the side of the wall.

"Pika, Pika pi!" the electric mouse cried out, pointing at the far end of the pool, Ash took a step towards the edge, seeing that something huge was lurking beneath the water. The second that Ash did, something burst from the depths of the pool. Pikachu used the flat end of its Iron Tail to launch Ash and himself out of the way of a Hydro Pump, the force of the water punching a hole straight through the wall behind them.

Ash slammed into Brock and Dawn, the force and the wet floor sending them sliding to the corner of the room. Water splashed over them as more water Pokémon appeared. A Seadra and Seaking's head breaching the surface, their mouths slightly ajar.

Mr. Mime appeared in a flash of light, his arm in a sling, as it wasn't completely healed just yet. He had seen what was happening from inside the Pokéglov and had already prepared something to counter their attack.

Two streams of needle thin water collided against a barrier that had materialized before him. The barrier began to crack under the strain; water was spraying in all directions. Mr. Mime's wounded arm limited him to one barrier at a time as he struggled to overlap the breaking barriers.

A Politoad, Starmie, and Corsola jumped out of the water, poised to strike at the handicapped Mr. Mime from his unprotected side. More flashes of light came; Ivysaur, Meganium, and Sceptile appeared next to Ash. Ash's hair whipped around his face as his grass Pokémon burst forward to meet their opponents.

Geysers of water fired from the gaping maw of a Gyarados, the wall behind Pikachu quickly becoming riddled with holes. Pikachu was so busy dodging the Hydro Pumps that he literally had no time to form any sort of counterattack.

Meganium charged at Politoad, its webbed hands managed to stop the tackle in its tracks. Two emerald vines shot out and wrapped around Corsola's head spikes, Ivysaur lifted Corsola off the ground and slamming onto the ground. Tiles beneath Corsola shattered under the force of the slam. For a moment, Corsola was still, and then its body began to glow. Corsola's shattered legs healed instantly with Recover, the stubs of its arms managing to grab hold of Ivysaur's vines as the rest of its body beginning to spin.

Seaking and Seadra were still firing thin streams of water when Sceptile blurred next to them. He burst into a spin before his body began to sink beneath the surface, his tail slamming into their throats. The force of the blow launched them across the pool and slammed them into the wall, two craters birthed by their collision.

Corsola was a pink sphere as it spun in place, Ivysaur still caught in its grip. With all its strength, Corsola slammed Ivysaur into the wall making a third crater and breaking most of Ivysaur's ribs.

Politoad and Meganium were at a stalemate, neither able to get any leverage over the other.

One of Starmie's purple pegs had embedded in the wall, missing Ash's head by an inch or two. Its central crystal stared into Ash's black pools, able to see his own reflection and the one of Sceptile heading towards them.

Sceptile maneuvered himself in front of Ash to protect him; Starmie spun out of the wall and stood in front of them. The leaves on Sceptile's arms began to glow, he raised them to his face and braced for the next attack.

Except, it never came.

If Ash didn't know any better, he could've sworn that the Starmie had no intention of attacking them any more. Starmie turned away from them and spun over to the other battles.

Meganium's neck leaves began to glow one by one, a bright yellow beam forming in her mouth. Politoad lifted itself over her head, the Solar Beam barely missing him by a few millimeters. A purple disk suddenly came in between them, causing them to separate. Starmie landed in front of Ivysaur, as if to defend him, confused Corsola immensely. Starmie began to speak, his words falling on deaf ears amidst the crash waves of the thrashing Gyarados and Pikachu.

Ash flinched as another flash of light erupted from his Pokéglov, seeing Glalie had now entered the fray. The arrival of another opponent brought the attention of Gyarados to Glalie for a few seconds. That was all that Pikachu needed to strike.

Ash's mind had been going in a whirl; he had almost forgotten that he was in the Cerulean City gym. When he was being attacked, the thought hadn't occurred to him that these were Misty's Pokemon. It had been a while since he had seen them, realizing now that they had evolved while he was gone.

"_But where could Misty be_?" He asked himself, a bellowing roar came from Gyarados as Glalie fired an Ice Beam at it. Its snake-like body coiled around the beam, leaving the beam to freeze a distant corner of the gym.

Next to Gyarados was an orange head of hair had popped out to see what was happening. A crashing wave came over the head; Gyarados became utterly enraged at almost being hit by the attack. Its tail thrashed about, sending waves of water everywhere.

That single second of distraction was all that Pikachu needed to get in an attack ready. Gyarados began directing the waves spawned by his frantic thrashing at the electric mouse.

Pikachu surged out from beneath the wave that curled around his body and would've crushed him from the weight. Volts of electricity began to form around his body, a cone of golden aura building as he ran.

Pikachu jumped and ran along the side of the wall, the Volt Tackle building up to its max power. What Pikachu didn't know was that Misty was in the water as well; the chlorine and other chemicals had masked her scent.

Pikachu jumped off the wall, soaring through the air with a direct route to Gyarados.

"WAIT! PIKACHU! DON'T ATTACK! MISTY'S IN THE WATER!" Ash screamed as he jumped in the way.

Dawn screamed as Ash's body was thrown at breakneck speeds, his body was thrusted through the cushion of water and smashed into the pool's floor, his unmoving body slowing rising slowly to the surface.


	16. I Mist You

**August 30**

* * *

Tears were already beginning to streak across Dawn's face; Brock's jaw had dropped. Mr. Mime stared wide-eyed at his master's floating body. The most indescribable emotional pain wracked through Pikachu's small frame. The utter suffering could be seen through Pikachu's eyes, it was almost tangible and contagious. The scene had even stunned the Gyarados and the other water Pokémon into submission.

"Ash…no…no…please don't be…?" Dawn sobbed, she held onto Brock who seemed to not notice her very existence. Ash's body bobbed gently in the waves.

Brock watched as something at the end of the pool began to move over to Ash. The figure floated directly beneath Ash's dangling arms; Ash's body began to move towards the edge of the pool.

Gyarados ducked underneath the water, swiftly swimming beneath both figures and resurfacing. It lowered its head once it reached the pool's edge, Ash's body sliding off the scaly surface. Brock got up, Dawn sliding off him, and starting running over to Ash's body, the Gyarados lifting its head to let Brock through.

"Misty, is he alright?" Brock asked calmly, Misty looked up at him in amazement. Her eyes lit up for a few seconds, only to be dulled once more when she remembered that Ash's unconscious form was beneath her.

"I…I don't know, I think he got knocked out from slamming into the pool's floor," Misty guessed. Brock took a second to look at her. Her hair was soaking wet, her side ponytail absent. Her hair was straightened out and draped over her shoulders, clinging together on her wet body. She wasn't wearing any of her old clothing either, just some shorts and a blue T-shirt.

Misty placed two of her fingers on Ash's neck, feeling for a pulse and relieved to find that there was one. She nodded at Brock, who smiled back at her, sighing with relief.

"He's okay…he's alive" Brock yelled out, a shine of happiness burned in Pikachu and Dawn's eyes, drying their tears. Dawn, Pikachu, and all of Ash and Misty's Pokemon huddled around them.

"He should be fried from Pikachu's attack, but he's okay?" Misty said in relieved disbelief.

Brock looked down at Ash's arm, seeing a small dent on the Pokéglov.

"Right before Pikachu hit him, Ash must've put this thing in front of him. It's called a Pokéglov; Tracy and Oak developed it. One of the things it can do is deflect or absorb electricity so to power its battery."

"He's out cold; he may have a few broken ribs as far as I know. We should move him to a better area," Misty suggested.

"If we move him, we may end up hurting him more," Brock reminded her.

Mr. Mime stepped forward, placing his hand over Ash's body. Ash slowly began to float up, a purple aura emanated from him.

"Where's a bed we can put him in?" Brock inquired.

"Follow me" Misty said, running out of the pool area and through the hallway they had just come through. Everyone followed except for Misty's water Pokemon; Mr. Mime went slowly as he levitated Ash through the air.

They quickly found a room, Ash's body being gently laid onto the bed.

"Dawn, Misty, go and get the others," Brock ordered.

Neither of them raised a complaint, leaving the room as quickly as they could.

Dawn and Misty walked at a brisk pace, a grim silence hanging over them as they made their way down the hall. Misty's curiosity got the best of her, her eyes drifting over to Dawn, scanning her head to toe. The blunette in question quickly took notice, watching the cerulean gym leader avert her gaze.

Misty couldn't help but feel somewhat embarrassed that she'd been caught staring. With a deep breath she stopped, turning to Dawn with her hand outstretched.

"I don't think we were properly introduced before. I'm Misty, gym leader of the Cerulean gym...not that it really matters anymore."

Dawn took the hand and shook it, "Hi, My name's Dawn, it's nice to meet you."

"So you're the new girl, huh?" Misty smirked.

"The…new girl?" Dawn parroted back, giving the gym leader a quizzical look.

"I'm gonna go on a hunch and say Pikachu fried your bike and that's how you met Ash," Misty stated, knowing the answer all too well.

"No way! You too? That is too weird," Dawn giggled.

"I know, isn't it" Misty laughed, a small pool of water growing from the base of her feet.

"Oh, I should probably get changed into something dry. You don't mind if I go change?"

"That's alright, I'm gonna go tell the others outside."

"You can bring them in to wait here, I'll be back in no time," Misty turned and began walking away.

Dawn made her way towards the exit, finding the others waiting outside.

Samurai and Tracy were closer to the entrance, their hands poised to strike with their weapons. Jessie, James, and Meowth stayed huddled behind both of them.

"We heard noises inside, it sounded like there was a battle. Is everything all right?" Samurai asked.

"Don't worry, everything is fine now"

Everyone cocked an eyebrow, staring at her quizzically.

"You really expect us to believe that?" Tracy sighed.

"Ash told us what it means when you say not to worry," Samurai added.

Dawn pouted, a rosy tinge raising to her cheeks before it disappeared when she spoke again.

"Okay, there was a small fight…and Pikachu accidentally attacked Ash, he's unconscious but he's okay"

Everyone's eyes widened; both Samurai and Tracy frowned at her.

"Didn't you think that would've been important to tell us first?" Both of them said, slightly annoyed.

They rushed past her, heading into the building, Jessie, James, and Meowth walking meekly past her.

They had reason to be scared of this place; they had tried stealing from this place before and failed. If anyone still remembered what they had done, they might not be so forgiving and use their undampened Pokemon as retribution.

Dawn quickly moved to the front of the line, showing them the way to Ash's room. Waiting there for them was Misty, wearing the yellow outfit that Brock would later recognize as the same outfit she wore when they had met up again in the Mirage Kingdom and she released her Togepi.

She instantly recognized Tracy and ran over to give him a hug. Tracy forcefully relinquished his grip over his pipe, his fighting instincts flared up whenever anything charged at him, friend or foe. Samurai caught the sudden flicker in Misty's eyes as she removed herself from the former sketcher, noticing the difference in Tracy instantly.

It was the way Tracy carried himself now, his expression in constant sternness. He was no longer the docile sketcher, his pencil had been replaced with his pipe, and the battlefield would be painted with the ink that bled of his enemies.

"Tracy, I'm so glad to see you. It feels like so long since we've seen each other."

"It has," Tracy nodded. She looked at the rest of the group. Her eyes fell upon Samurai, seeing only a stranger.

"We've met before, I was the boy you met in the Viridian Forest with Ash. We had an incident with the Beedrill and you watched the battle between me and Ash while you sunbathed," Samurai explained, having noticed her quizzical stare.

"Right! Now I remember you! Oh my gosh, it's been years since I've seen you," Misty said, walking over and extending a hand, which he took and shook gently.

James, Jessie, and Meowth flinched as Misty's eyes traveled and rested on them. Misty frowned, "Why are they here?"

"They have cut all ties with Team Rocket and have decided to join us," Samurai interjected before they could speak.

A flicker of warmth went through the Ex Team Rocket members, hearing someone vouch for them. Misty gazed at them once more, her eyes frigid.

"Is this true?" She spat coldly, to which all three of them nodded fiercely.

Misty glared daggers at them as they bowed their heads.

"We know it probably doesn't mean much now, but…want to apologize-"

"For all the bad past experiences-"

"Dat we've had all dese years."

Neither of them raised their heads to meet Misty's eyes.

"I can't trust anything you say and I can't forgive you after everything you and your organization put me and my friends through," Misty spoke evenly, locking in all the anger that festered in her heart for the most part. "If I so much as think you're gonna try anything funny, I'll let Gyarados tear you apart."

The sound of the door opening reached everyone's ears, Brock exited the room. Misty turned, her facial features turning from complete and utter repulsion to happiness as he walked over to them. Brock advanced towards her with open arms and a smile, unaware of Misty's earlier promise. Misty closed the distance between them in no time at all, practically throwing herself into his embrace.

"It's been a long time hasn't it?" Brock chuckled as he hugged her back.

"Too long. I've missed you guys so much, I miss going on adventures with you."

"I'm pretty sure that me and Ash could agree that we'd rather you not have been part of our latest adventures these past few weeks."

"You'll have to tell me all about it," Misty urged, leaving Brock's embrace.

Dawn looked at them in awe; she could feel the years of friendship from them. The way they looked at each other and smiled, they must've gone through a lot together, nothing compared to the amount of time that she had spent with Brock or Ash.

"I hate to break the reunion, but how's Ash?" Tracy inquired, Samurai nodded in approval.

"Come, have a look for yourself" Brock replied walking over to the room he had just left and opening it for them. They slowly entered, they eyes immediately falling on Ash in the center of the room on a bed, surrounded by his Pokemon. Tracy walked over to Ash, lifting his Pokéglov and pressing a few buttons.

"The Pokéglov isn't made to check the injuries of humans, but I can still get a bio signature from the wearer. Right now, he's stable; the right false ribs are cracked. I think he's coming out of shock and he has a concussion, his right arm is broken in three places, but luckily it's not a comminuted fracture. The lumbar region of his back is bruised but his heart rate and breathing are normal. He's going to be in a lot of pain when he wakes up unless we can get him some painkillers."

Tracy lowered Ash's arm onto the damp sheets, soaking up the excess water he'd taken with him from the pool.

"There's something else you're not telling us," Brock noted.

Tracy sighed, "You're not gonna like this."

"Tell us anyway."

"It...it looks like he won't be able to travel for a while."

"How long?" Misty asked nervously.

"I'd say a good two to three weeks until we can even think of having him _walking_"

"How did he get hurt in the first place?" Samurai asked.

"Follow me and I'll explain," Misty said, leaving the room, one by one, everyone but the Pokémon left the room. Dawn was the last to leave, looking back to see Pikachu standing at the edge of the bed.

Seeing Ash hurt because of its attack was destroying the mouse on the inside. Sceptile was equally disturbed, feeling suddenly very weak with his inability to protect Ash.

"Don't worry guys, Ash'll get better, this isn't anyone's fault…" Dawn started before her voice began trailing off. As much as she tried, she couldn't think of anything else to say that would comfort them, noticing that her words had no effect. She closed the door and left the room, leaving the Ash's Pokémon to mourn in silence.

Dawn quickly caught up with the group; they were heading down the hallway to the room where the incident occurred.

Misty stopped halfway, "I need you guys to stay here for a second, I'm gonna explain the situation to them, I'll come back when I'm done, it shouldn't take long."

Misty left, sure enough after a few minutes she came back, as she had said. They followed her to the room, being greeted by Misty's Psyduck, Starmie, and Caserin, her Luvdisc.

Samurai was thoroughly impressed at the sight of a Gyarados, as was Brock, but not for the same reason.

"Misty, I didn't know you had a Gyarados" Brock commented.

Misty nodded, "I use it for gym battles. There's a bunch of things that've changed while you've been gone. My Goldeen evolved into a Seaking, and my Horsea evolved into a Seadra."

Brock looked around, unable to spot them, "where are they?"

"They were hurt in the fight, luckily it wasn't anything that couldn't be healed" She pointed to the edge of the pool, everyone peering over to see both Seaking and Seadra underwater, glowing blue rings spinning around them and pulsating.

"What're they doing" Dawned asked.

"It's a move called Aqua Ring, it slowly heals the Pokémon. It's slow so it'll be half the day before they're in tip top shape."

"Dawn raised her hand, clutched her fist and released it, a flash a light released all of her Pokémon.

"That's a pretty good idea," Brock added, doing the same, with his Pokéglov. Jessie, James, and Tracy following suit.

"Where's your Pokémon?" Misty asked Samurai.

He gave a solemn stare, calmly replying, "They are in a better place."

"Oh, I'm sorry" She said quickly.

"No need," he assured, walking over to the wall and leaning against it. Everyone's Pokémon began to mingle, exchanging salutations and pleasantries.

"Misty, why were you hiding in the water?" Brock asked.

"Oh, right. I think I should explain that first. I was having so much fun with you guys here that I totally forgot," Misty chuckled nervously.

Every huddled close to her and gave her their undivided attention.

"I think you've noticed that there's no one in town. They've all evacuated."

"The same thing happened in Pewter city," Brock added in.

"Right, well it was almost two weeks ago and all my Pokemon started going-"

"We know what you're gonna say, you can skip that part since it's happened to us as well"

Misty nodded and skipped to the next part, "well a few days after that incident, it was night and something happened. One of the people walking at night was attacked; all that was left was the person's shredded clothing and blood. One by one, people started disappearing and the police didn't know what to do. People stopped going outside, but even then people started to disappear within their own homes.

That's when people started leaving. The police set up surveillance cameras to find out what was causing this, they also had a stakeout for good measure. Everyone at the stakeout disappeared that night. With that, the police evacuated as well."

Misty pulled out with a small tape from her pocket.

"With the police station empty, I took the liberty of taking one of the copies that they had of this tape. Can that thing on your arm play this type of video?" Misty asked Tracy, pointing to the Pokéglov.

Tracy walked over and took the tape, looking at it from all angles, and then looking back at his Pokéglov.

"I think I can make this work," Tracy said, fiddling with the Pokéglov. After a few seconds something began to whirr and click. A hologram appeared above the pokeglov. Everyone huddled around Tracy to watch the video, Samurai watched from afar as he leaned against the wall.

"Tracy, can you fast forward? I'll tell you when to stop."

Tracy nodded and the video went faster for a few seconds until Misty told Tracy to play it at normal speed.

Brock immediately heard Officer Jenny begin to speak.

"_Did you hear that? I just heard something, like a flapping noise._"

It came like a wave of black smoke with a mind of its own. It flooded over everything, swirling around all the officers. Tracy began to slow it; everyone was watching the scene frame by frame. Misty had seen it countless times already, preferring to watch everyone's expressions instead.

Dawn was absolutely horrified. Tracy attempted to keep a straight face, Samurai's eyes widened from a distance.

"_Zubat, bat Pokemon, Preevolution of Golbat. Disliking sunlight, it sleeps deep in forests and caves until sundown. Even though it has no eyes, it can sense obstacles using ultrasonic waves it emits from its mouth. Height: 2: 07. Weight: 17lbs_."

Jessie, James, and Meowth grew pale, watching that with every frame, Officer Jenny's screams were frozen in place. Slowly, her body began to be lost in the swirling black tornado. Blood sprayed from every direction of the black cyclone. One man tried running away when something swooped down onto him.

"_Golbat, bat Pokemon, evolution of Zubat and Preevolution of Crobat. Golbat love to drink the blood of humans and Pokemon. If flies around at night in search of neck veins. Once it starts to suck blood, it does not stop until it is full. Height: 5.03. Weight: 121.1lbs_."

The man gave an inhuman scream, writing and flailing beneath the weight of the Golbat that sat on him. The Golbat bent down, lying on top of the man. A peach skinned arm thrust out in a futile attempt for help, the skin rapidly changing to blue, then white. The bones were immediately visible; the entire body having shriveled up. The Golbat flew off its victim; two thumb-sized incisions were made on each side of the person's neck. All the blood in his entire body had been drained.

More frightening than the sight itself was the database entry of Golbat and the fact that the entry itself was when Golbat had their dampeners on.

Samurai continued to watch the Officer Jenny die, watching the Zubat's method of killing. They swirled around their enemies, doing Air Cutter inside their self-made cyclone. From the cuts in every direction, blood would spill out and fly into their open mouths. Nothing but the clothes was spared: not organs, bones, or skin, as the Zubat's would also take bites as they flew around their victim.

It was like watching a human being put in a giant blender.

The carnage only lasted for a few seconds, and then it was over. Tracy turned off the tape, completely speechless. His mind went numb and blank; there were no words to define his emotions at the moment, aside from his nausea and desire to throw up.

The frozen image of Officer Jenny was carved into Dawn's mind, her screams sending a chill through her spine.

James, Jessie, and Meowth were pallid and shivering, holding each other for comfort. They couldn't help but imagine themselves in that scenario, their imaginations creating the sensation of what it would feel like to killed in that fashion.

"The Zubat and Golbat can't go into water and it's bad to have their wings wet. For the past couple days I've been hiding underwater where they can't touch me. They always come at night; any form of defense that I've put up has been destroyed by the sheer amount of strength and numbers. I've tried to use UV lights, but it just bothers them and they destroy it. At first, I was really scared, but after a few days, it became routine and I got used to it. I didn't realize it wasn't night anymore when you guys came, my Pokémon were kind of sleep deprived and attacked you. I've been waiting for my sisters to come here before I leave."

"Where are your sisters?" Brock asked calmly, Misty's voice shaking away the discomfort of the group, at least for a while.

"They…they went on a vacation, a…a cruise line"

Dawn closed her eyes, Brock sighed, placing his hand on Misty's shoulder.

"Misty, I think you might want to sit down. It's our turn to tell you our story."

* * *

Brock told her how it began for them, told them about the Luxray after describing it as an electric Persian, seeing as she had never seen that type of Pokémon before. Meowth, Jessie, and James told their reasons and part of the story, Brock adding in the missing pieces of their journey on the cruise. When it came to the point of Ash's difficult decision, she grew pale.

It wasn't what Ash did; it was what it meant about the fate of her sisters. It wasn't that they were on the same cruise, but this crisis was happening all over the world and it was a good chance that her sister's cruise had suffered the same fate. The chances that they were alive, was slim to none. Her shocked expression didn't change as tears streamed down her face, her breaths growing faster and shallower. Brock went over and gave her a hug. Misty's arms rose up to return the hug, but flopped down lifelessly again.

Brock stroked the back of her head; the only thing holding her up was Brock's embrace. Half an hour passed before she could even attempt to compose herself. All the while the others waited in patient silence.

"I sorry. I'm sorry I have to be the one that tells you this," Brock whispered. Misty shook her head, stray tears thrown into the wind.

"No…no it's…it's okay, I think I'd rather have known. I…I would've been waiting for people who would never have come. I…I need to be…" her voice began to crack to the point where she could no longer talk. Brock helped her up, reluctant to let her walk by herself. She would occasionally stumble, threatening to fall, leaning against the wall in the hallway for support.

Once she was out of sight they stood there standing, Dawn and Jessie wiped their tears. Brock took a deep breath of air before walking towards the hallway.

"I'm gonna make breakfast, you guys want anything specific?"

No one said anything, leaving Brock to stand silently in the hallway.

Tracy began to leave, "I'm gonna look to see if there's any medicine, bandages, or medical equipment here that I can use for Ash?"

"Have you ever studied medicine before?" Brock inquired with interest.

"No, but my Pokeglov has a tutorial for using first aid for certain wounds. It'll give me the step-by-step instructions on what to do with Ash," Tracy replied.

"What can't these Pokéglovs do?" Dawn chimed.

Tracy stopped in his tracks just before he passed Brock in the hallway and sighed heavily.

"They can't turn the Pokemon back to normal."

* * *

Tracy searched the bathroom cabinets and found what he needed, heading immediately for Ash's room. At first glance, he thought that he was alone in the room, only to find that was not the case as he took his first step towards Ash.

Ash's Pokemon hadn't moved an inch since they left the room earlier, their inhuman stillness made them look more like statues than living creatures.

The tension was practically suffocating the moment he advanced towards Ash and every eye in the room turned towards him in unison. An involuntary shiver rattle Tracy's frame at the sudden attention, the synchronization of their movements uncanny.

"I'm…gonna see if I can dress Ash's wounds so that he can heal faster," Tracy explained, to which they all responded by nodded in unison.

They moved away, watching Tracy as he worked; he could feel every pair of eyes boring into him. It didn't make him comfortable knowing that these Pokemon could easily kill him if he made a mistake and hurt Ash more.

Tracy tended to all of Ash's wounds except for his broken arm wearing the Pokéglov. Luckily, the dent in the gauntlet didn't seem serious enough to impede with its standard functions. Ash would have to manually take it off when he awoke, as it would only respond to his voice command. Although unintentional, the shape and material of the Pokéglov made for an effective cast.

If anything, Tracy was actually surprised that their product had managed to stay intact from the physical brunt of Pikachu's Volt Tackle. That, or something on Pikachu's behalf had saved the Pokéglov from total destruction.

His final order of business was to transfer Ash's Pokemon into his own Pokéglov. Tracy's silently followed the loading bar marking the rate of transfer.

"_89…90…91…what_?" he murmured out loud when a new window opened up on his pokeglov's screen.

"What do you mean unable to transfer?" Tracy yelled.


	17. Up To Bat

Brock, and the others continued to finish telling their odyssey where they left off. Misty had almost cried at the news of Professor Oak's death, as well as the death of Ash's mother. Goosebumps appeared on her arm as they described their adventure through the Beedrill super hive. She went through a plethora of emotions including amazement as they recounted how Ash's Pidgeot and its flock aided them three times separate times that were recounted in detail.

Tracy entered the room just as they finished, everyone turning towards him in the same fashion, just as the Ash's pokemon had done earlier, making him flinch again.

"So, how is Ash?" Misty asked.

"He's fine, I've given him a sedative and a dose of anesthesia so that he'll be asleep longer and when he wakes up it won't hurt as much. As long as we don't move him too much, I think he'll be okay. I've transferred most of the pokemon in his Pokeglov to mine except for Noctowl, Swellow, and his fire pokemon."

The news did not bore well with Misty.

"Dammit!" she cried, slamming her fists against the kitchen table, making the silverware jitter along the table.

"What rotten luck! We have just the pokemon we need to fend off the Zubat and Golbat, but we can't even use them!"

Everyone could see that battle advantage of having a fire pokemon fight against a condensed swarm of poison and flying pokemon.

"It's almost ironic" Brock sighed.

"Why can't you transfer them?" Jessie asked.

"He's assigned those pokemon to his fingers, the pokeglov will only summon them if he's awake and uses his fingers to summon them. It'll read his brainwaves so it won't do anything if we move his fingers for him. I can't believe one of our aces has been turned against us" Tracy sighed as he slumped into a chair.

"Shouldn't we be trying to prepare for tonight, we can't all hide in the pool?" James pointed out.

"It's still pretty early, it's not even close to noon yet" Misty said, relaxing.

"Still, it's better that we start planning as soon as possible" Brock advised.

"Let's start working at noon" Misty insisted.

Brock nodded begrudgingly, he didn't like her work ethic, but he would go along with it since she had more experience with this situation than they did. Hopefully his trust in her wouldn't result in something they would regret.

* * *

Misty walked over to the pool area to check up on Seadra and Seaking, seeing if they had healed all the way. To her delight they had completely healed, now mingling like the rest of her pokemon with everyone else's from the edge of the pool. There were so many pokemon that she had never seen before, which she assumed were from the Sinnoh region that she had heard about.

Her eyes scanned the group, her eyes falling on a certain pokemon.

Brock and Tracy had gone to check on Ash's pokemon for wounds in Ash's room. After a quick examination they were satisfied with knowing that none of the pokemon were hurt. Ivysaur who had broken some ribs earlier had used Synthesis to undo the damage.

As soon as they left the room Misty rushed over to them, cradling something in her arms.

"You didn't tell me you had something this adorable with you" Misty squealed, cuddling up against her was Brock's Happiny.

Brock understood immediately what was happening. Happiny, being an infant and being so small and innocent looking reminded Misty of her Togepi.

"I can't believe that you let this adorable little pokemon by herself" Misty scolded.

The realization had smacked Brock across the face, he had forgotten about his Happiny entirely. Being in constant danger had made him forgetful.

"Oh! You're right" Brock said, rushing over to Misty and crouching low, meeting Happiny eye to eye. "Happiny, I'm sorry for ignoring you, can you ever forgive me?" Brock asked.

Happiny stared at him angrily, shaking her head in refusal.

Brock was taken aback, had his negligence done that much damage? He could justify himself. Carrying her all the time would get her hurt if a wild pokemon attacked. Then again, he had forgotten to pay any attention to her when they were in the confines of his family's base.

Misty hadn't expected Happiny's rejection either; she had only been playfully scolding Brock for his negligence.

"Hey, come on Happiny, give Brock a second chance" Misty cooed.

Happiny turned away from Brock, snuggling up to Misty instead. Misty looked up from Happiny to Brock and back again.

"Brock, I really sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen, I really didn't" Misty apologized.

"It okay, I know you didn't. I think it's better off this way. It's my own fault for not paying enough attention to her. With all this stuff going on, I don't think that'll change. I don't deserve to have her if I keep ignoring her when she needs me. I think she would be better in your care. The love that you gave to Togepi is nothing that I could ever hope to achieve. As long as she's happy I don't mind not being the one that raises her."

Brock walked away, Misty was left standing next to Tracy.

"I feel kinda guilty now," Misty mumbled under her breath.

"Don't be, he wants what's best for Happiny, and he can't give it to her like you could. If you love someone, then you should want them to be happy, even if it means you can't give it to them. You have to let them go, and let someone else do what you couldn't" Tracy consoled.

"I guess you're right" Misty replied, running off in pursuit of Brock.

"Brock, wait up" Misty cried out, Brock stopped and turned towards her.

"What is it?" he asked calmly.

"I was able to raise Togepi, but the way the world is now, it's going to be a lot more difficult. I don't think I can do it alone, and I want you to help me raise her…only if you still want to" Misty suggested.

Brock nodded in approval, "I think that's a good compromise. I'll do what I can, and you'll have to remind me if I start to forget. You don't mind holding onto her while I go and see what I can start making for lunch do you?"

Misty shook her head, "no, not at all."

Brock began to head back towards the kitchen before stopping and turning towards Misty once more.

"You know Misty, you'll make a wonderful mother someday"

Ever since Misty had gotten Togepi, she had changed gradually. It was subtle, but Brock had noticed. Her motherly instincts had kicked in the second she was given the opportunity to care for an infant.

"Uh…thanks Brock" she replied awkwardly with a gentle blush on her cheeks, unsure of what to make of his words. Brock walked away, unable to mask the smile on his face as he entered the kitchen.

It was almost lunchtime now; Brock had donned on an apron and was cooking while Dawn and Misty jabbered behind him.

"So she really looked and sounded just like Ash?" Dawn inquired.

"Yep, and Duplica pulled off a Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, and even me" Misty explained.

"That's incredible, I hope I get to meet her someday" Dawn gushed.

Brock smiled, they had been going on like this for hours after fawning over Happiny for a few minutes. Misty had been telling all of their adventures when they were in Kanto to Dawn. Brock was surprised that Misty had remembered so much, some of the stories she said were ones that Brock had completely forgotten about.

Samurai walked into the room, followed by Jessie, James, Meowth, and Tracy.

"Oh good, you're just in time for lunch" Brock said, his back still turned towards them.

"We really should be thinking of what we're going to do tonight," Jessie recommended.

Misty sighed, relenting as Samurai began the conversation.

"Are there any other places where we could be safe from the Zubat and Golbat other than the pool?" Samurai asked.

"I don't think so, I didn't really bother to see if other places were safe enough, seeing as if I was wrong then that was it for me. I didn't find any reason to find another place to hide since the pool idea was working so well."

"I'm worried for Ash; putting him underwater would not help his situation, we shouldn't even move him if we want to him to recover. I don't think the room is sturdy enough to hold up against the sheer amount of force and numbers of what we're up against, even with Ash's pokemon protecting him."

"Is there any chance that the Zubat won't come, maybe they've given up on you since they haven't been able to get to you all this time"

"I don't think so. If anything, me being the last person here has made them even more persistent. They keep trying new things but it never works, but they still come every night since my scent is all over this place. I tried covering my scent by soaking this place with chlorine and other chemicals that might ward them off, but the smell must've not been strong enough. If anything, they'll _all_ be coming tonight once they get a whiff of the scent of new blood."

"Well let's look at our options. We can't leave since Ash won't be able to move for a while," Jessie said.

"How are we going to stay here until Ash heals? We don't have the supplies to last that long" Tracy interjected.

"We could take supplies from the surrounding houses like my parents did" Brock replied.

"Let's try and get through the first night," Samurai reminded.

"Could we escape? Would they follow us, how far would we have to go to be safe?" Jessie asked.

Misty shrugged, "I don't even know if the people that evacuated got away."

"You said that they rest in the mountains by day, could we attack them?" Samurai asked.

"I wouldn't recommend it. Just because it's day, doesn't mean that they wouldn't kill you if you entered their cave, they'll only attack if attacked, or startled."

"Do you know how many there are at least?" Tracy inquired.

"I'd be impossible to count them all, but I guess that there were as much as there are stars in the sky" Misty estimated.

"That's not very encouraging" James sighed.

"What if we sealed the exits that they take from the mountain," Brock suggested, brushing the food he had finished cooking off the pans and onto plates.

"I think that would only slow them down, but we could try. You wouldn't be able to do much, there's probably hundreds of ways in and out of Mt. Moon that the Zubat could take. Sealing the entrances might even startle them and make them attack even if it were the middle of the day. They wouldn't be as coordinated, but they would eventually get you…I'm sorry for raining on your parade, I must sound so negative."

"No, it's fine. It just means that we have to think harder if we want to live. Dammit! Tracy growled.

"What is it?" Dawn asked out of curiosity.

"If we only had a fire pokemon at our disposal then we could just have them create a fire at the mouth of the cave. This would burn up all the air in the tunnels inside and burn any wild pokemon that came to attack us."

"Could we use water and flush them all out? We have a lot of water pokemon," James recommended.

"Mt Moon is a huge place. I don't think that even all of our water pokemon combined would be able to produce enough water to flood the entire mountain," Misty refuted.

"How much water could they produce?" Tracy asked, his interest suddenly peaked at the suggestion.

"Well, they could flood one eighth of the mountain if they used all of their strength."

"What about this building? Could they submerge this entire building and then some?" Tracy asked, his voice eager with anticipation.

"Yeah, I guess you could" Misty replied, unsure where Tracy was going with the conversation.

"I have a plan, I need Brock and Misty to come with me, and I need you guys stay here," Tracy ordered.

"What is it Tracy?" Dawn inquired.

"No time. We have to work fast if what I have planned will work, and I know it'll work. James, don't summon any of your pokemon until I get back. I'll explain most of the plan to Misty and Brock while we're on the way."

Tracy left the room, Brock and Misty had no choice but to follow him, the plates of abandoned food rested on the table and slowly began to cool.

Tracy waited for them outside, Misty and Brock taking a while to catch up. Happiny was snuggling into Misty's embrace, catching the gazes of Brock and Tracy.

"Misty, I don't think it's safe to bring Happiny with us" Brock advised.

"Don't worry Brock, this shouldn't be dangerous, she can take her with us" Tracy reassured.

"Alright then, what do you need us for Tracy?" Misty asked.

"First of all, I need Brock to summon his Steelix"

Brock nodded and said Steelix at his Pokeglov, a flash of light springing forth from the crimson and white gauntlet. The metallic serpent slithered around them, ready for its orders.

"Misty, do you know what opening in Mt. Moon the Zubat take to get here"

"Not really, it's dark when they come and they kind of blend into the night sky. If anything, the most I could tell you is that they look like a black-blue cloud when they head towards the gym."

"It's a good thing then that I came prepared," Tracy mumbled, lifting the pokeglov to his lips. "Donphan" he said, a bright flash of light materializing into Ash's Donphan. "I was able to transfer Ash's Donphan to my pokeglov, since Donphan have excellent senses of smell, as long as we have something that is similar to a Zubat or Golbat smell, then Donphan should be able to lead us right to their lair."

"We don't have any Zubat or Golbat" Brock pointed out.

"I don't have any of the clothing of the victims that we could use" Misty added.

"You forget Brock, you yourself have a Crobat" Tracy corrected.

"I guess you could use Crobat, but do you really think that it would lead Donphan to the Zubat?" Brock replied skeptically.

"The scent may have changed a bit from the evolution but it should still be able to work. We'll know it does if it points towards Mt. Moon."

"What if it leads us to actual Crobat?" Brock asked, turning to Misty.

"I haven't seen any Crobat in all the nights that I've been here, but you never know."

"Let's just hope then that fortune smiles upon us for once" Tracy sighed.

A final flash of light emitted from Brock's Pokeglov, summoning Crobat. The purple bat pokemon fluttered before Donphan's nose, Donphan taking a few loud sniffs.

Crobat fluttered away; Donphan's elongated nose took whiffs of the air. It swung back and forth until it suddenly froze in mid air as if suddenly possessed by rigor mortis.

"I think he's got something," Misty announced. The three of them stared in the direction that Donphan's nose pointed to; relieved somewhat that it was aimed in the general direction of Mt. Moon.

"Okay Brock, since speed is of the essence, I asked you to summon Steelix so that we could ride it to where the cave is. You don't have to come with us Misty, I only asked you here since I thought you might have known the location of the Zubat. I think it would be better if you stayed here and told the others what we're doing, I'll fill you in on the rest of the plan once me and Brock get back. I also think that it would be easier on Stelix with less weight to carry."

"Are you calling me heavy?" Misty glared playfully.

"Not at all " Tracy said, managing to form a little smile.

Stelix began to lower its head as Brock and Tracy mounted it. Misty began to back away as Steelix's body began to rotate.

"You guys better come back safe and sound, if you die out there I'll kill you," she laughed.

"We'll keep that in mind, don't worry. We'll be fine" Brock spoke for both of them. Minuscule spiral grooves that were invisible to the naked eye were etched upon every inch of Steelix's body. As its extended body began to spin, the grooves helped push its body forward. Steelix surged ahead surprisingly fast, leaving a billowing trail of dirt behind it

Misty stared at the metallic serpent disappear into the distance. She began to walk away towards the gym entrance, her eyes beginning to water.

"Please be safe, I don't think I can handle losing someone else."

* * *

Brock watched as Donphan spun before them, leading the way. Crobat had no difficulty catching up with them as it flew. Tracy continued staring forward, watching as Mt Moon began to draw closer. Donphan stopped rolling at the base of the mountain, as did Stelix and Crobat, in front of the gaping maw of the cave.

Merely staring into it made Brock shiver, Tracy avoided it all together. It was a difficult thing to ignore. The opening itself was taller than Stelix, and wide enough for Steelix to squeeze through.

No matter how deep you stared into the mouth of the cave, the black abyss remained a foreboding and ominous presence. The very way it was formed made it eerie, the opening was wide at the base but narrow at the bottom. It looked like a rising lighting bolt from the ground; the edges all along the sides were jagged, making it look like a mouth full of serrated fangs.

"Let's not get too close, our scent may attract them despite the sunny conditions" Tracy warned.

The Pokemon moved away enough to where they thought they were at a safe distance.

"Alright, what now Tracy?" Brock asked.

"I need your Crobat to screech as loud as it can into the cave," Tracy ordered.

"You want my Crobat to screech into the cave! That'll wake up the Zubat and Golbat inside. They'll get startled and attack us."

"Look, hear me out. If your Crobat screeches in there, the Zubat will hear a Crobat. Not a human, not another pokemon, a Crobat. Their highest evolution and something that may be stronger than all of them. They have no reason to attack something of their own species. I'm certain of it."

"But you're not one hundred percent sure about it?"

"…No, no I'm not. But it's worth a try. If worse comes to worse, and let's hope not, we can ask Steelix to hold us inside its mouth and burrow underground. It could use sandstorm and sandtomb, not to mention rock tomb to seal the tunnels it makes from behind. You're Crobat is incredibly powerful, at least enough to fend them off. Not to mention that with its four wings, it could easily outrun them" Tracy assured.

"And why are we doing this?" Brock asked.

"This is what I have in mind. Your Crobat works best at night, as do the Zubat and Golbat, but do you know why?"

"Yeah, they use echolocation to see things better, especially Zubat since they have no eyes."

"Do you know how echolocation works?"

"Somewhat, but just get to the point," Brock pressed.

"Alright, bat pokemon like your Crobat don't see in the dark with their eyes, in reality, the eyes are just an unnecessary accessory. A sound it emits from its mouth travels through the air and bounces off an object. The sound that's bounced off goes back to the Crobat's ears. This creates an image in the Crobat's mind and pretty much gives a three dimensional map of the area. If I make your Crobat use echolocation on the cave, I can find out how many Zubat we're up against. Not only that, but I can also use the sound to find other entrances around the mountain. We can close them up so to give us more time to work until night comes" Tracy explained.

"How are you gonna know what Crobat sees?"

"The pokeglov has a scanner that you can use to see the status of your pokemon. It ranges from brainwave activity, to hearing capability. If I combine these two and cross-reference it with a 3D map of Mt. Moon, I can see what we're up against."

Brock gave a long whistle of approval and surprise.

"Wow, where did you learn all of that?"

"You pick up a few things living with the Professor."

"Okay Crobat, go and use Screech inside the cave, focus on seeing everything inside."

Crobat nodded and flew over to the entrance, opening its mouth wide and using Screech. The sounds waves created rings at the base of Crobat's mouth, Brock had to cover his ears while Tracy covered one side with on hand, and the other with his shoulder, the pokeglov remaining aimed at Crobat.

A holographic tunnel began to form, materializing and branching out into a dozen different directions. The two-dimensional top view of Mt. Moon appeared above it; suddenly a transparent molding of the mountain coated the tunnels.

Crobat closed its mouth and flew back to Brock and Tracy whose ears were ringing somewhat.

"Crobat's Screech is echoing off the walls, so it's also giving me a short feed of the inner workings of the mountain. With this, I'll be able to see if the Zubat are coming for us. Dexter, highlight any movement" Tracy commanded.

After a few agonizing seconds the computer responded, "**No movement detected**."

Brock and Tracy couldn't help but feel that they could breathe easily now.

"Now, computer. Highlight anything that has the height of around two feet and seven inches, try and cross-reference it with a sleeping Zubat" Tracy specified.

Hundreds of highlighted dots coated the ceilings of the cave. The magnitude of what they were up against was distressing.

"How many are there?" Brock said rhetorically, almost gasping.

"**Stalagmites may be interfering with accuracy of the numbers. Estimated amount of Zubat; between five hundred and three hundred**" Dexter replied emotionlessly.

* * *

**Next, Chapter 19: The Dark Night**


	18. The Dark Night

Dawn sat at the kitchen table, eating the meal that Brock had cooked for all of them. Everyone else ate in silence until Misty entered the kitchen, heading for the hallway across the room without a word.

"Wait, Misty! What's going on?" Dawn asked.

Misty stopped, took a deep breath and turned to face them.

"Tracy and Brock went to go look for the cave where the Zubat are hiding in. He thought I knew where the Zubat were hiding during the day, which is why he asked me to come outside. I didn't know, so they left me here because I would slow them down and there was no reason for me to go. Plus, he thought it would be better if I told you what was going on so far, so not to leave you all in the dark. They said they'd be back and that they weren't doing anything dangerous. So until then, all we can do is wait for them to come back," Misty explained.

Without giving a chance for anyone to respond, Misty left the room.

* * *

Four stone ovals rose from the ground in order, the first one being the deepest inside the cave and the last one blocking the entrance entirely. Each stone stopped an inch from every side of the entrance. They had to be careful; sealing the entrance completely might have shaken the innards of the cave, waking the Zubat.

"That makes thirty nine" Tracy counted out loud as Steelix pulled its tail out of the ground.

"Tracy, I think we've covered enough of them to slow them down for a while. Besides, I think Steelix is almost out of Rock Tombs.

"You're right" Tracy said, looking at the digital watch on the pokeglov and staring at the sky. The sun was traversing the heavens and in a good seven hours it would begin to set. Brock pointed at Crobat, disappearing with a flash into Brock's pokeglov, Tracy did the same with Donphan.

"Full speed towards the Gym, Steelix" Brock yelled as Steelix slid down the mountainside.

* * *

James, Meowth, and Jessie had offered to clean the dishes; Dawn took the liberty to find Misty. She searched every room she came upon, finding each vacant and uncomfortably quiet. The only room she hadn't checked was Ash's room, feeling no reason for her to venture in there.

Dawn decided to check the pool area, finding Samurai practicing his sword technique with an imaginary opponent. The other Pokemon were still mingling amongst themselves.

"Have you seen Misty? Did she come in here?" Dawn asked out loud.

Samurai stopped for an instant, doing her the courtesy of looking at her when he shook his head before going immediately back to his stances. The Pokemon did the same, leaving Dawn to ask herself where Misty gone. As far as she knew, Misty would've had to pass through the kitchen to get to the exit.

Dawn began walking back to the kitchen when she decided to stop by and see how Ash was doing. She found herself tiptoeing towards Ash's room, justifying it to herself as a way to not wake up Ash. She slowly turned the knob as silently as she could, opening the door centimeter by centimeter. Her hand immediately rose to her mouth, catching her gasp as her body became as rigid as a stone.

To the left of Ash's bed was Misty, sitting over him, her hands running through his hair.

A pang of envy filled Dawn, she quickly drowned the feeling but felt it lingering in her heart.

"_What is she doing? What should I do? Should I go inside? Would I be interrupting if I just came in_?" Dawn's mind was buzzing; unbeknownst to her, she was pouting. She looked across the room, as much as the small gap would allow her, not daring to move the door another millimeter. Her every thought revolved around hushing her very existence from the world as she watched.

The beating of her heart was in her ears, making it feel like her entire head was throbbing. Dawn only hoped that her heartbeat wasn't as loud as she thought it was. Ash's Pokemon had moved away to the four corners of the room, probably to give Misty her space.

"_Give her space to do what_?" Dawn couldn't help but think angrily.

Mr. Mime was holding Happiny with his good arm; Happiny was wide-awake, watching the events unfold before her.

Misty's fingers weaved through Ash's hair gracefully at a caliber of gentleness that Dawn had never seen. A piercing beep penetrated the silence that filled the area, the offending sound pinged from Ash's pokeglov that displayed his vitals with a green line that rose and fell sharply with his heartbeats.

Misty reluctantly pulled her hand away from him, shielding her eyes from Ash's unconscious form. Trails of tears succeeded in breaching the blockade of her palm and traveled down her cheeks.

Misty tried her best to keep her sobs as quiet as she could, sucking in deep breaths and attempting to bury her grief with air alone. Her entire body willed for the sadness not to pour out of her.

"If I knew…If I knew that you would end up like this…I would've never wished that you had come. I prayed for so many days that would come here, that you were safe. I don't want to see you like this. It's unfair; it's unfair that the first time we see each other in so long is like _this_. It's all my fault that you're like this, I would've wanted that it be me and not you here in this bed."

Dawn noticed her vision beginning to blur, her eyes finding it difficult to hold back the unborn tears. It wasn't the words that sent these shudders of sadness through her soul, it was the emotion behind them; so strong, so sincere. Misty truly meant what she had said. Dawn wondered if Misty's feelings had transcended the borderline of strong caring and into honest love.

Misty had suffered a similar loss like Ash; their only family members were gone. In a way, Misty could be one of the only people that could truly understand what Ash was going through.

"_Does Ash feel the same way towards her? That would explain why he jumped in the way of the attack. The look in his eyes when I asked him about this place before we came in, the reason he walked so fast just to get to here. He told me that he was looking for a really good friend; his eyes were filled with so much hope. Is she really just a good friend to him? Not only that, but what am I to Ash_?" Dawn finally asked herself.

Misty began to lean over Ash's face. Her face a shade of pink as she brought her face closer to his.

"_She's not going to- she is! No, no, no- I can't watch. URRRGH! Why can't I look away_? _Wait! Why should I care? This shouldn't bother me a single…_" Dawn bit her lip while her eyes focused solely on Misty, the tempo of her heart beating faster with every millimeter that Misty advanced.

Happiny hopped out of Mr. Mime's hands, shuffling towards Misty. Misty took notice, moving away from Ash and picked her up.

"_YES!_!" Dawn squealed mentally.

Happiny reaching out to wipe the tears out of Misty's eye, only to come short as her limbs were out of reach, instead, she turned and stared at Ash, then back at Misty.

"We're back," Brock yelled as he opened the door, with Tracy only a few steps behind him. Misty's eyes shifted towards the door, Dawn flinched and backed away as quietly as she could from the door. Once far enough she lunged into a silent sprint as fast as she could, crashing into Brock as she turned the corner.

She fell back, Brock catching her by the wrist before she could collide with the floor

"Sorry Brock" Dawn instinctively apologized.

"Why in such a hurry?" Brock asked.

"I just wanted to see if you were okay" Dawn lied.

Samurai walked up behind them, "How did it go?"

"It went well, we sealed some of the exits to Mt. Moon, so this should buy us some time."

"How much time did it buy us?" Samurai inquired.

"If we're lucky, then it _might_ have bought us a few seconds" Brock replied calmly.

"A few _seconds_?" Samurai replied incredulously.

"Hey, I know it doesn't sound like much, but in this case, a single second can change our fate at the moment."

Misty appeared from around the corner and stood behind Samurai, her eyes gleaming with joy at Brock's safe return. Dawn did her best to not make any eye contact with Misty, wondering if Misty had seen her peeking through the door. Misty had done her best to cover up the fact that she had been crying. Her eyes had hints of red, but no one made any comments. Tracy came up behind Brock, his eyes solely focused on Misty.

"Misty, I need to ask you a question," Tracy asked firmly.

"What?" Misty responded.

"If it meant that we might be able to survive and wipe out the Zubat and possibly the Golbat, would you be able to give up the gym?"

"Y-yes, of course" Misty stuttered. "Could I just salvage a few personal belongings first?"

"If it hampers our ability to move quickly, then I'm afraid you can't. Only salvage it if it's absolutely necessary and if it's small or light. A picture would be perfect, but a stuffed animal would just become a nuisance. Don't ask the others to carry it for you, as it would cause them to slow down and become vulnerable targets. We'll take cooking utensils, rations, and medical equipment, other than that, we don't need anything since we already have it" Tracy explained.

Misty couldn't help but stare at Tracy, he was so much more different than she had expected; so cold. Dawn frowned at Tracy's cold logic, as much as made sense, the way he worded it made him sound like an emotionless jerk in her eyes.

"I…I understand" Misty relented.

"Good, I'm glad we see eye to eye" Tracy responded, clearly apathetic towards how hard this was for Misty.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Well, if you're going to do anything, you're going to need this," Tracy pulled out from behind him a pokeglov, handing it to her. Misty, as well as the others, were mildly surprised. Tracy pried open the sides, the gauntlet hissed as it opened, ready to embrace Misty's arm within the black inner lining of the pokeglov.

Misty slid her hand through the cushioned innards as Tracy clamped it over her arm. A familiar humming sounded from the pokeglov as it bonded with Misty for life.

"Why are you giving me this?"

"I'm going to need you to scan all the Pokemon in the pool area, it might be helpful if you do the tutorial as well. Once you're done, I would like you to begin gathering all the medical equipment. Brock, you take care of the cooking utensils and the rations that we will be bringing if we survive the night. This should take no longer than forty minutes at max. Go!" Tracy ordered, both Misty and Brock walked away briskly, Dawn and Samurai still standing at attention, waiting for their orders.

Dawn, do you have any pokeballs?" Tracy inquired.

"Only the ones that I used to have for my Pokemon before the pokeglov, I forgot to throw them away."

"Better that you didn't, give some to me and go to Ash's room and get his Mr. Mime."

Dawn walked away with gusto, leaving Tracy staring at Samurai, Tracy's eyes scanning up and down Samurai's body, seemingly doing some sort of calculations or contemplating something within the confines of his mind.

"Samurai?"

"Yes?"

"Are you afraid of the Zubat?"

"I think I can hold my own against them."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"…I don't know. Any sane man would fear them, but I have steeled myself so not to fear death. Is that sufficient?"

"Yes, that's fine. There's just one last thing that I want to know. If I asked you to be bait in a plan that would surely kill a grand majority of the Zubat, would you volunteer?"

Samurai couldn't fight against the creeping smile that stretched along his face.

* * *

Tracy was walking back to kitchen when Jessie, James, and Meowth approached him.

"What is it guys?"

"We were wondering if there was anything that we could do to help" Jessie suggested.

"We wanta earn our keep" Meowth explained.

"That's really nice of you guys but unless you have a way to move a large amount of water in seconds, then I don't know how you guys can help."

Something clicked in their heads all at once as soon as Tracy finished talking.

"James, do you think that they still have it?" Jessie asked, turning towards James.

"I don't know, we'll have to ask…Misty" James replied.

They were all still getting used to not calling everyone other than themselves by the term twerp. Each of them would have to memorize each person's name whereas before they didn't need to.

Without another word, the three of them rushed past Tracy, left stupefied in their wake.

* * *

Dawn entered the room, Pikachu and the rest of the Pokemon moved out of the way, leaving her a clear path to Ash.

"_Wait, do they expect that I'm going to do the same thing as Misty_?" Dawn thought.

"Mr. Mime, Tracy wants you to go outside, he needs you to do a job so that we can protect Ash" Dawn explained. Mr. Mime gave a curt nod and left without a single complaint. Dawn looked back at Ash, her eyes glued to him now.

"_It's tempting, but I shouldn't_" Dawn stepped back towards the door.

"Well, why not?" She said in half turn towards the door.

"_I'm too young, we're too young_!" she debated within herself.

"_But we're old enough to leave home, travel by ourselves for years out in the world without our parents supporting us"_ Dawn refuted.

Her legs seemed to walk over to Ash's side, her body no longer under her control, but by something else. She kneeled down, leaning over the edge to see Ash's face only a few inches from hers. Her face began to heat up, her cools hands reached up and tried to conceal and cool her blush.

"_What am I doing? I'm doing just the sort of thing that I didn't want Misty to do. I'm taking advantage of Ash right now, he should have a say in this_. _And…would I really want it to be this way_."

Dawn turned her head, meeting the eyes of every Pokemon in the room, their full attention on her and glimmering with interest.

With all of them watching, Dawn's face turned even redder. She pushed herself away from the bed and began heading towards the door.

* * *

Tracy stood outside of the Cerulean gym, watching Mr. Mime complying with his orders. His head turned in the direction of the sound of distant running to the right of him. Jessie, James, and Meowth were wheezing, their hands resting on their knees as they bent over to catch their breath.

"Why are you guys out of breath?"

"We…thought…we could…help. Come around…the gym" James explained, pointing towards the direction that they came.

Tracy was skeptical, but gave them the benefit of the doubt and ran around the gym. Just as he turned the corner his shoes skidded across the asphalt. Standing before him was a metallic, cubic behemoth. One large tube was connected to the side of the building, another tube extended from the other side of the machine.

"What in Arceus's name is that thing?"

"It's…a giant vacuum. We used it when we first came here to suck out all the water Pokemon out of the pool. We had stolen it from somewhere in town before, so we went to the same place and we got another one. It was hard to move, but we tried to get it here as fast as we could" James clarified.

"So this thing sucks water out of the pool in the building and the shoots it out here? That's perfect! You just made my job a whole lot easier guys, we may have more time than we did before to work on our survival. If anything, I think you may have helped save us tonight" Tracy praised, patting Jessie and James on the back, as well as petting Meowth.

"Glad ta be of service" Meowth panted, still slightly tired.

Tracy leaned against the machine, trying to push it with his back and despite all his might, he hadn't gained an inch.

"Man, this thing is really heavy. It must've taken a lot of strength; I think you guys have earned yourself a breather. Go inside and take a nap or something, oh, but before you go. James, I need you to leave your Mime Jr. with me, I just need him to make barriers, and no harm will come to him. Also, summon your Carnivine as well and keep him around you at all times, don't return him to the pokeglov until I say so, alright?"

The three of them nodded and walked over to the entrance of the gym, their movements full of fatigue.

Tracy smiled; they really were trying to make amends for what they did in the past. His opinions of them were slowly changing, for the better.

* * *

Samurai stared at the setting sun; it reminded him of the evening that they were going to run through the super Beedrill hive. He took a deep breath of air; the water at his feet ebbed and sloshed all around him. There was no breeze; the air was still as Samurai exhaled. All around him, swimming gracefully were Starmie, Gyarados, Luvdisc, Buizel, Swampert, Croconaw, Prinplup, Azumarill, Politoad, Seadra, Kingler, Crawdaunt and Seaking.

Samurai was standing on a barrier that Mr. Mime had made for him to stand on; it was a meter long and a meter wide, just above the water. Pikachu also stood by Samurai, waiting patiently for the battle to come. It's yellow paws held a pokeball that held a Pokemon that Tracy had transferred from the pokeglov.

Samurai couldn't help but stare at the spectacle below them, he crouched and peered over the edge of the barrier he stood on and gazed at the Cerulean City gym, completely submerged underwater.

An entire story of water stood between him and the room of the gym. The insides of the gym itself were completely untouched by water. Mr. Mime and Mime Jr. had created multiple barriers that overlapped each other, making an effective airtight wall that kept the water out.

Blocking out all the water also meant that no air would come through the barriers as well. Tracy had thought ahead and made everyone summon his or her plant Pokemon. Plant Pokemon functioned like real plants in that they inhaled carbon dioxide and exhaled oxygen. Everyone inside would be able to breathe normally since the plant Pokemon would continuously recycle the air.

Samurai stared back at the setting sun, surprised to see that in brief instance he had looked away, the sun had delved deeper into the horizon. He could actually see the sun inching further below the clouds before his very eyes. The purple curtain of night slowly crept behind the sun.

Pikachu's ears suddenly twitched, but other than that, Pikachu made no other motion. Samurai took note of the subtle gesture, pondering if Pikachu's hearing was so good that it was able to hear the Zubat coming from this distance.

Pikachu had been able to hear the Zubat, the removal of the dampeners had allowed every sense to become magnified a hundredfold. As they stood there, the Zubat had just encountered the rock walls that blocked their exits. From the sound of it, they were not pleased with this unexpected obstacle and made it a priority to correct it. The rock walls provided little resistance as the Zubat chiseled away at the stones with their Steel Wings and Air Cutters.

For the Golbat, it only required a single Air Cutter to dice through all four stonewalls.

A single hour's work was annihilated in a minute.

It may have been a waste of time, but it never hurt to have some insurance.

Pikachu turned towards everyone's water Pokemon circling underneath them like hungry Sharpedos.

"Pika, Pika pi" Pikachu said, the water Pokemon getting into position. Samurai didn't know how to speak Pokemon, but guessed that Pikachu was telling them to brace themselves for the upcoming attack.

His hands and knees shock, his heartbeat was skyrocketing as he willed his breathing rhythm to become less shallow.

"_Why am I acting like this? I volunteered, I am not afraid of death; death shall come to me when the time is right, and I will be able to rejoin my Pokemon, but now is not that day. I need to help everyone survive the night; they are all counting on me_."

Samurai looked at Pikachu, noticing that Pikachu was also twitching from the corner of its eye.

"Pikachu, are you alright?" Samurai asked shakily.

"Pika" Pikachu said and nodded, licking its lips in anticipation.

Samurai noticed the glint in Pikachu's eyes; he recognized those eyes because they had once been his own. After spending almost an entire week fighting the Beedrill, he would come home and see that very same piercing gaze in his eyes off any reflective surface.

They were the eyes of one who was thirsty for blood and gore, ones that could only be connected to the thoughts of the person or Pokemon, whose only wish was to kill even more the following day. The eyes of a trained veteran, of an experienced creature that was no stranger to murder and death, one who invited it with welcoming arms.

Samurai slammed the hilt of his katana against his thigh in an attempt to calm his shuddering legs.

"_Why can't I be more like Ash's Pikachu right now? What makes us so different? Is it because I saw what the Zubat could do and Pikachu hasn't? I was able to take down the Beedrill. They could fly and use poison as well…wait! That's it! They're the same_!"

Samurai's trembling ceased, his confidence burning anew. Pikachu turned to look at Samurai, noticing that he was no longer quivering in his own armor. A smile of courage was painted across his face. If anything his entire body was steaming confidence; Pokemon were able to smell courage as well as fear.

Pikachu smiled as well, knowing that Samurai would no longer be a liability that needed protection, something Pikachu had previously thought before.

* * *

Darkness now blanketed the sky, holes of light peeking through the void. It was then that Samurai heard the screeching. He turned his head, looking back and forth, but unable to discern the Zubat from night. Pikachu could see them perfectly, trying not to be daunted by the legion that they faced.

The screeching grew louder and louder by the second, they were only a few yards away from Samurai when he saw them. It felt like looking from the inside of a blue tornado. For a few seconds, nothing happened, the screeching was accompanied by hundreds of thumps. Samurai felt a small sense of relief that the barriers surround the gym had held together.

The shimmering blue and blackness began to rise higher; the thuds began to sound over their heads as the Zubats continued to pry the barrier for weaknesses. Samurai's eyes rose with the Zubat, surprised at what he saw.

Tracy had told him to get on top of the roof before they had submerged the gym underwater. He knew that barriers surrounded the gym; he hadn't expected that the barriers would rise to the height of fifteen stories from where he stood.

Samurai looked back at the barriers around his level, seeing that they weren't damaged at all. Tracy had been right, the Zubat were driven by instinct rather than logic. Had they all attacked the barriers enough times, it would've broken. It seemed as if Tracy's trap for the Zubat was going to work after all.

The air was beginning to thin as the Zubat flew even higher, this did not stop them at all. A sense of elation came over the entire flock of Zubat once they reached the top of the barrier tower.

They all poured in at once, it was like a wall of fluttering colbolt coming down on them. Every water Pokemon's head popped out of the water, a stream of water as thin as a thread of silk fired from each of their mouths. They were careful not to hit any of the sides of the barrier tower lest it shatter and destroy the other barriers like dominos.

Zubat were instantly diced, but this did not stop the others from charging downwards. They had fasted for the entire weak, eating berries and other things that they used to eat before the dampeners had gone, but it did nothing to quench the memory of blood, bone, and flesh.

Samurai took the last second to look outside the barriers to see if all the Zubat were in the tower. To his dismay, there were still Zubat at the base of the building even though the barrier tower was half full.

Pikachu wasn't supposed to use any electrical attacks yet, the conditions for the plan had to be met if they were to have any chance of surviving the following nights.

Prinplup fired a wave of bubbles that intercepted the Zubat face first. The tower shook from the explosions up above, but Zubat continued to fly through the smoke. No Zubat fell from the explosions, their own brethren inside the cloud were consuming the dead Zubat.

Starmie hopped onto the platform in between Pikachu and Samurai, it looked at Pikachu who was already nodding. Pikachu's tail shot underneath Starmie, the flat end of Samurai's blade did the same thing. With all the strength between them, they launched Starmie at the Zubat.

Starmie became a purple disk as it used Rapid Spin; the Zubats braced themselves with their iron wings. The Zubats began to slow their decent as their purple prey approached them. In an instant, wings were broken; bodies were battered to a side, and Starmie flew through the other side of the blue wall.

Starmie stopped spinning, turning its body around to scan the situation below. Zubat were still pouring into the tower, half of the swarm was torn between the choice of trying to attack Starmie who was so close, or going down the rest of the tower to get the other morsels.

Zubats were converging on Starmie instantly; Starmie began to do Rapid Spin, letting gravity and momentum do the rest. Zubats from outside the tower were tailing Starmie, even as the purple Pokemon tore through the blue wall of Zubat once more. Starmie landed with a splash, while up above, the Zubat were fighting amongst themselves.

Zubats chasing Starmie were so desperate to capture their prey that they used Steel Wing to bash through the Zubat wall. Samurai watched as the Zubat wall refused to lower another inch towards their level. He wondered how long this riot would last. The wishful hope that they would finish each other off as they fought amongst themselves was out of the question.

Other Zubat joined the internal fray as they tried to plow through the fighting, the only thing that stood between them and fresh blood. Zubats that were knocked to a side returned with a vengeance and attacked the closest Zubat. It wasn't logical; it was a pure instinctual response.

This blind mutiny only lasted a total of thirty seconds, that was when the next phase of Tracy's plan commenced. Below Pikachu and Samurai, underneath the waters, everyone's water Pokemon were swimming gracefully under a specific pattern. Samurai couldn't help but become captivated by the underwater dance, despite the fluttering fury above him.

Thunder bellowed from the night sky, clouds formed above the barrier tower. Samurai looked from outside the barrier, no more Zubat remained outside of the tower's range. A dozen dark blue figures moved into the shelter of shadows, but Samurai didn't notice it at all.

No rain reached them through the screeching Zubat roof that was slowly beginning to lower down to them. The lowermost Zubat began to charge towards them once more, the ones at the top were being pelted by rain.

The Rain Dance would've made every electric attack made by Pikachu never miss it's target. Pikachu's attack could also jump from one target to another if they were in close proximity, but the bolts could only stretch so far. The only reason Pikachu hadn't used a single Thunderbolt was that it would alert the Zubat of the immense danger they were facing. They would run away at the first sign of lightning, prolonging their extermination. Tracy wanted to wipe them all out at once and have the rest of their days here, carefree and safe.

Pikachu's Thunder might've been able to wipe out the _majority_ of them if it could hit them before the Zubat could run away. The Zubat would sense the upcoming electrical attack and flee, seeing as they would have ample time to escape with Thunder taking longer to execute.

There was also the case of Pikachu's electric attack killing all of the water Pokemon below them. With the walls in their way, no one from inside could return all their Pokemon. Samurai could not wear a pokeglov and hold the Pokemon since it would conflict with his armor and he had no Pokemon to hold. With the pokeglov boding to its wearer for life, it would be a waste to give it to Samurai. But also, without the pokeglov, Samurai would also be susceptible to Pikachu's attacks.

Pikachu would have to put every ounce of energy in its body into the attack and only when the time was right. Tracy's plan was complicated, but if it worked, then they wouldn't have to worry about the Zubat anymore. No one knew how fast it would take for Zubat to replenish their forces through reproducing, but no one wanted to take that chance.

Not a single Zubat could survive this night. If they did, the Zubat would be wise to any plan Tracy would make in the future and rely more on logic rather than instinct.

The water Pokemon below them had to maintain their dance if the rain was to continue. Pikachu made no attempt to attack for fear of damaging the pokeball in its paws. Zubat were raining down upon them, not as numerous as before and evenly spaced out by a few feet.

This was all Samurai needed; the Zubats quickly met Samurai's blade as well as death. Pikachu had no intention of standing there and being a target, the metallic clang of Pikachu's tail turning to iron could not be ignored.

Samurai's katana resembled a pallid crescent moon, the fading white of the blade was the only thing that one would see before they died, and even then what one saw was merely the afterimage on Samurai slaying another target and not the one that killed them.

Pikachu twirled in the air, holding the pokeball tightly as its tail diced through Zubat like Samurai's blade. More Zubat came down; the majority of them targeting Samurai, seeing as he was the bigger of the two and the one with the most amount of blood. A blue tornado began to form around Samurai, resembling the one that killed the police in the video they had watched.

The constant movement began to make Samurai nauseous, his vision fading inside the cobalt blur. Deep scars scratched across his armor, some accompanied by sparks, others by wisps of blood that disappeared in mid air as soon as they spilled from his body.

Samurai had to move constantly; any second of stillness meant another ounce of lost blood or armor. Some of the cuts were shallow, others managed to breach his armor and draw blood. His blade met little resistance in spite of the fact that his blade carved through their Steel Wings.

Steadily, the blue tornado of Zubat began to dissipate with each death. Through the gaps, Samurai could see Pikachu fighting its own battles, unhampered by the fact that it could not use any electrical attacks or paws for that matter.

Pikachu's tail carved through Zubat, quite similar to what Samurai was doing. The more Samurai watched Pikachu fight, the more he saw that the name Iron Tail no longer suited Pikachu's actions.

Pikachu's tail had become more like a katana than anything else.

The pitter-patter of rain was beginning to sound off Samurai's armor; the third phase of Tracy's plan could begin.

Once, Samurai and Pikachu had killed al the Zubat in their area, Prinplup hoped out of the water, up above, the rain began to lessen with the absence of Prinplup in the Rain Dance. Pikachu jumped into Prinplup's arms, Samurai hopped onto Prinplup's back.

Seaking poked the bottom of the barrier platform, making it crack and shatter. Gyarados looped its body beneath them, its head looking up, parallel to its tail, which was pointing downwards. Once Gyarados had taken aim, its tail surged forward. Its tail met momentary resistance from the water, using this to its advantage. The second that its tail surfaced, with no resistance, his tail swung faster.

Gyarados's tail fin met Prinplup's feet, catapulting Prinplup into the sky. Samurai gritted his teeth, feeling his armor shake all over his body. Gyarados began to swim around in a circle around Prinplup's range. The other Pokemon did the same; the water churned and rose up.

A hollow column of water rose up from Gyarados's Dragons Rage, shielding Prinplup, Pikachu, and Samurai. The Dragons Rage drilled through the wall of Zubat, and any that were trapped inside the water column were blown away by Prinplup's Bubble beam. Prinplup's momentum began to reduce, until gradually, Prinplup began to fall back down.

Samurai let go of Prinplup, Prinplup threw Pikachu at Samurai, and Pikachu threw the pokeball it held at Samurai. Samurai grabbed it, watching as Pikachu angled itself underneath him. The metallic clang echoed in Samurai's ears as Pikachu used Iron Tail. Samurai felt the flat end of Pikachu's Iron Tail against his feet; it was only a brief moment of contact before Pikachu launched him even higher.

Zubat slammed into the side of the barrier tower to avoid being hit by the water column. Pikachu landed on Prinplup's back, both of them plunged towards the ground. The Dragons Rage ended when Prinplup and Pikachu dove into the water. All the water Pokemon moved to the corners of the tower as Prinplup swam to the center. Pikachu had let go and began swimming to a corner as well.

Prinplup began to spin, the water swirling around it and drawing all the Pokemon to the center. The water Pokemon fought against it, doing their best to anchor themselves to their positions. Prinplup stood at base of the whirlpool, untouched by the water spinning around it.

Samurai found it hard to breath as he reached the top of the barrier skyscraper. He turned himself around, looking down at the inside of the tower. He aimed the pokeball in his hand towards the inside of the tower.

He pressed the button in the center, "Snorlax, I choose you."

The pokeball opened and with a beam of light that manifested itself into Snorlax.

"Snorlax, use Body Slam" Samurai yelled.

Snorlax didn't really have to do much, letting gravity take its course and aiming its stomach at Zubat. The Zubat from inside the tower took notice and began leaving the confines of the tower.

"Snorlax, use Hyper Beam in that hole in the whirlpool" Samurai screamed, hoping that Snorlax would be able to hear him. His worries were settled when Snorlax opened its mouth, an orange beam of energy shot downwards. Unfortunate Zubat that were in the path were instantly vaporized.

Prinplup jumped out of the way just in time before the beam punched a hole in the roof of the building. Even though Prinplup was no longer inside the whirlpool, it could still control it from a distance. Waiting for them inside the gym was Tracy with Brock's Ludicolo. He had been waiting for the opening so that the Pokemon could come; Ludicolo was part plant, allowing him to breath with a constant oxygen supply.

The Beam connected with the floor, the shockwave of the blast flinging Tracy's body across the room without warning. Tracy hadn't taken into account how powerful the Hyper Beam would be. He slid down onto the floor, feeling every inch of his body ache as he limped his way towards the crater in the ground just below the hole in the ceiling.

Tracy's every movement sent a jolt of pain through his body, making him wince. He ignored it as he lifted his arm towards the hole and clenched his fists twice, returning everyone's water Pokemon to his pokeglov. Samurai dove downward, his head and his blade both aiming towards the ground. Snorlax plummeted through the tower below him, some Zubat slammed into Snorlax's stomach; the force of the impact liquefied them instantly.

Without Prinplup, the whirlpool began to disappear, the water was only still for a fraction of a second when Snorlax Body Slammed into it. The water underneath Snorlax parted to the sides immediately, taking Pikachu with the rising current. With the Barriers, the water had nowhere to go but upwards.

The sound of moaning metal and snapping wood could be heard from everyone inside the gym as Snorlax burst through. The force of Snorlax's impact on the gyms floor sent Tracy head over heels and into a wall again. The crater from the Hyper Beam became even larger as all of Snorlax's weight falling from over fifteen stories crashed into it.

The structural integrity of the house threatened to buckle under the strain, the damage was too much to handle. Cracks from the impact snaked their way along the floor and onto the walls an even on the ceiling.

With surprising speed, Snorlax pushed itself onto its back; the damage Snorlax had taken was not severe and could easily be fixed by using rest, which Snorlax proceeded to use. Tracy fought for consciousness; his skull had slammed hard against the wall. As he cupped the bump on his head, he could feel the warmth and stickiness of his blood, a streak of crimson marked the wall behind him.

The strength from the water parting and moving up the tower was causing the barriers to crack and shatter. Pikachu managed to find some traction by using the gaps in the cracks as ledges. It used Agility and Quick Attack to scale the wall, the water still rising but now trailing behind Pikachu.

Samurai had gained enough speed to make it down the majority of the tower; now the problem was to find a way to slow down, having heavy samurai armor was not helpful. The barriers at the top of the tower were beginning to crack and fade away completely, creating a shattering domino effect on the other barriers.

Samurai spread his arms and legs in an attempt to slow himself down; the effects were barely noticeable. He closed his eyes, knowing that he would lose his nerve if he continued to watch his descent to the ground. Samurai pointed his sword away from the ground so not to damage Snorlax with it. He had expected a brutal collision, but instead was intercepted by a warm fleshy trampoline.

The sensation was welcome, comforting, and all around warm. His body was tired, on the brink of giving out like when the left the Beedrill hive. He wanted to go to sleep; his eyes were already closed. But he knew he had a job to do, opening them as he felt Snorlax's flab push back against him.

Pikachu jumped off the side of the tower just before it shattered from the domino effect. Samurai sensed Pikachu close by, turning his sword back to the ground. He spun his body, using the momentum to strengthen the swing.

Pikachu used Iron Tail in mid spin, looking like a gray disk with a yellow center. The clink of steel meeting steel was all that Samurai heard in the void of silence they shared in that moment. Samurai pushed Pikachu up with all his strength, where Pikachu used all its strength to push off the flat end of Samurai's blade.

The effect was a simultaneous explosion of speed for the both of them. Samurai slammed into Snorlax's stomach once more, hitting it at an angle and bouncing off into the ceiling. His body crashed to the floor, the armor taking the brunt of the damage. Samurai rolled onto his stomach, the cracking of the tiles beneath him were all that he heard. He tried lifting himself with his arms, but they gave out instantly. His head slammed into the ground, knocking him out instantly.

Pikachu soared up, heat pouring off its body and rising into the clouds.

Tracy ran over and jumped onto Snorlax's paw who had just woken up from its healing sleep.

"Snorlax, I want you to take aim, and throw me into the air, but not too hard, use about a quarter of you strength, try and throw me into the center" Tracy commanded.

Snorlax nodded and concentrated on the yellow dot in the sky that was growing brighter. Pikachu gathered all the electricity into its body as it could as it rose, preparing to use Thunder.

"NOW" Tracy bellowed, the G forces kicking nearly instantaneously and almost making him swallow his own tongue as he flew through the air.

Pikachu released all the energy it had saved throughout the entire battle in this single attack. Tracy placed his pokeglov in front of his face, closing his eyes before the Thunder attack struck the gauntlet.

Every barrier was now destroyed, leaving in its midst two walls of water that began to crash down like a tsunami. Zubat that had escaped before had flown downwards where the air was less thin. The wall of shadow from the Tsunami absorbed their shadows.

The white bolt of lightning split into hundreds of white lances that shot into the water. All the Zubat in the area were drenched in the water and instantly electrified. Pikachu passed out in mid air from releasing so much energy, Tracy fell back down and landed on Snorlax, bouncing off him and rolling into the corner of the room where he began to lose consciousness.

Pikachu followed suit, ricocheting off Snorlax and into the other corner of the room. The electricity in the building went out, shrouding everything in darkness, the only light coming from the moon up above.

Tracy attempted to smile; his plan had worked. It was so complicated that he'd had doubts that it could actually be pulled off despite the small deviation to the plan. Most of his assumptions were based off guesswork on the actions of the Zubat. He could go to sleep in peace now.

Tracy's eyelids were slowly closing when he heard the sound of something fluttering. His attention came to a dark blue figure perched at the top of the hole in the ceiling. For a few seconds, Tracy fought to stay awake, but his body wouldn't agree with him. "_Wait, we're not safe yet…we still…have…t-…_"

Everything went black.

The fluttering of more wings came; eventually the light that filtered through the hole from the moon was blocked out from the ring of Golbats that stared hungrily at their morsels.

All the water Pokemon in Tracy's pokeglov were locked away due to his unconscious state. Samurai and Pikachu were passed out and exhausted from the battle. To the Golbat, with the strongest of the group now gone, everything else would be easy pickings.


	19. Tribulations of Tributes

Since the beginning of the battle, the Golbat had kept their distance. Unruled by their instincts like the Zubat were. It had been intelligence alone that had saved them from destruction.

A bright glow from below was barely noticed in time before some of the Golbat escaped the blast. Two of the Golbat were vaporized, the orange beam continued on into the atmosphere, thrusting the clouds in the night sky to the four corners of the globe.

If the Golbat thought that Snorlax was out of the fight, they were dead wrong. The Golbat glared angrily as their mistake had cost them one of their own, a thought which was quickly discarded as they realized they now had more blood among themselves.

With the flick of the tip of their wings, thin gashes appeared on Snorlax's stomach. Although almost impervious to the swing of a blade, Snorlax had no defense against an air vacuum from Golbat's Air Cutter.

That slashes were all that Snorlax needed so to motivate himself off the ground and into a more strategic position. Snorlax rolled off, pushing off the ground with all his strength and muscle beneath the fat and onto its feet. The tiles beneath him cracked; Snorlax ignored his discomfort as he stood in front of Tracy and Pikachu like a giant fleshy shield.

The Golbat leader flew to the other end of the gym, aiming its wings at a certain angle. Snorlax saw the attack before it hit, unable to move but at the same time deciding not to. A diagonal cut severed the top half of the room; a grinding screech could be heard through the halls. The detached portion of the roof began to drag along the edge of the concrete wound until it slid off the building completely.

Snorlax ignoring the blood that seeped out his wounds and soaked his fur. The ground at its sides had been cut as well; the only break in the line was behind him where Tracy and Pikachu resided. The stinging sensation would not go away no matter how deep Snorlax buried it.

A simple Rest would heal the cuts without even so much as a scar, but now was not the right time. The Golbats up ahead circled the skies, their eyes glowing a sinister purple.

Thousands of eyes appeared in the sky and in the distance, the sky replaced the dark black and blue for lavender and red. Scarlet lids blinked endlessly all around Snorlax. The bulging white and glossy wet eyes swiveled back and forth, scanning the area and finally resting on Snorlax.

The feeling of so many eyes bearing down on Snorlax did nothing to deter him from his goal. It was like being inside a house of eyes that melded seamlessly into the lavender-red walls. The deed had been done; they were trapped now that the Golbat had used Mean Look. Snorlax used Amnesia, bracing itself for the barrage of airborne attacks that would come.

The Golbat sent wave after wave of blades of wind, only to make a scratch here and there. They used confuse ray, but it was useless if Snorlax made no attempt to move. Even if they were to all tackle Snorlax at the same, they would not be given an inch of leverage. They would have to settle for going around Snorlax for their prey, but there still lied danger. There was still a chance that one attack would still breach the veil of confusion.

None wanted to take the chance of testing fate, each of them secretly wishing that the other would do so since their death would mean more blood for the surviving group. No one was willing to purposely betray the group, but they wouldn't get in the way of stopping something that would help their own self-benefits.

Snorlax glared at the temporarily bewildered Golbat who quickly returned the favor. No matter what way one looked at it, each side was locked into a stalemate. The Golbat scanned and prodded for a weakness they could use to exploit. Some of the Golbat broke away from the area of stalemate, deciding to prod other areas for prey. Snorlax could do nothing but watch helplessly as the Golbat flew away. He could only do his best to protect against the Golbat that remained.

Suddenly, the Snorlax and the remaining Golbat noticed that someone was missing from the room.

* * *

Ash was snoring softly, still unaware of battle going on outside the room. The lights flickered off, the machines around Ash died, casting the room into a deathly silence. Everyone else cringed at the loss of the lights unable to see their own hands in front of their faces.

No one tried to move, neither did all the plant Pokemon around them. Despite the room being a bit crowded, everyone could breath normally and the room wasn't too stuffy.

Dawn took a deep breath and activated the light on her pokeglov. Everyone to whom she pointed it to averted their eyes. She turned the light off, seeing as shinning it their faces made them uncomfortable.

Brock almost jumped out of his seat when he heard the thump of something outside the building. Misty's heart began to sink a little, she had hoped that the damage to the gym would be minimal, after all it was still her home and they would all be staying there until Ash healed. Brock's hand found her shoulder through the darkness, doing his best to comfort her.

"I'll fix all the damages done to the gym," He whispered. Misty smiled even though he probably didn't see it. Then again, somehow, he had been able to land his hand on her shoulder with perfect accuracy.

Happiny was still cradled in her arms, wide-awake and alert. Minutes that felt like days passed, it was uncomfortably silent.

"Should we go outside?" Dawn suggested, breaking the silence.

"Tracy told us that when the fight was over they would come get us, we should stay put and wait for them," Brock reminded.

"_But they've been gone for a long time though, could everything be okay out there. What if everything went wrong, what if they're dead…no, we would know if they were dead, the Zubat would've come for us next. Unless they're too busy eating- no, I shouldn't think like that. They're fine. There has to be a reason why they're so late. It's dark outside they could be lost, do these barriers even let sound through? They might be tired, or hurt and they can't make it here. But if that were true, they could just send a Pokemon to get us_" Brock wondered.

It happened in an instant, nothing could've dodged the invisible blade in the pitch-black darkness. The barriers and the door were sliced in half without any resistance. Every barrier shattered as the severed door toppled to the ground. The roof began to slide down, revealing the purple eye-ridden sky up above.

Inch by inch, the sliding ceiling revealed more of the room, allowing it to bask in the red glow. Misty looked around, seeing that Ash, Dawn, Brock, Jessie, James, Meowth, Mime Jr. and the other Pokemon were untouched.

Then idea that no one came out unscathed was tarnished when Mr. Mime's head rolled along the floor.

Misty's scream left her mouth until the decapitated Pokemon exploded into a puff of smoke. Brock instantly realized what had happened; Mr. Mime had used the move Substitution to still maintain the barriers but be in another area. Mr. Mime's quick thinking had saved his life.

Sceptile jumped into the air to intercept the Golbat above them, the leaves on his arms glowing green.

"RUN!" James screamed, picking up Mime Jr. whom had been next to Mr. Mime and running out the door. There was not an instant among the group where they thought that James was a coward, if anything, at that moment he was the most intelligent of them all. Staying in that cramped room would get them killed all at once. If they left, Ash's Pokemon would have more room to fight. Each of them felt that they were somewhat betraying Ash, but they all hoped that Ash's Pokemon could protect him.

Carnivine decided to follow its master rather than fight the Golbat like the other Pokemon; then again, most of the Pokemon in the room belonged to Ash. Misty, Brock, Jessie, Meowth, and Dawn ran after James, into the dark hallways of the Cerulean gym.

* * *

A few dozen Golbat flew over Ash's room; drool drizzled from their gaping black maws. Sceptile's leaf blade sliced the wings off one Golbat while simultaneously boring several holes through its mouth with Bullet Seed.

Ivysaur and Meganium entered the fray, firing leaf after leaf into the sky. The Golbat's Air Cutter diced some of the leaves, but some of them got through, leaving the Golbats with cuts along their bodies.

The Golbat fought against their instincts, which told them to kill their brethren and drink their blood. For a few seconds, it made sense; why go through danger if food was so close. Then each of them remembered that the Zubat had gone on those instincts and had met their demise.

Although it was difficult, they fought against their primal urges, some of them resorting to holding their breath, the smell of blood in the air drove them mad with every inhale.

Ivysaur frowned; he had hoped that the Golbat would've attacked each other with the smell of blood in the air. He looked at Sceptile and Meganium, both of them nodded in approval.

Ever since the fight with the Fearow, they had created a combination move on their own. Sceptile jumped down in between Ivysaur and Meganium who were already in position.

Each of them bickered about what the move would be called; but there was one thing that they all eventually agreed on. The Golbat could only describe what they saw by what the attack had been named: Leaf Hurricane.

Sceptile's arms, Ivysaur's flower, and Meganium's petals were a blur, each summoning over a hundred leafs and firing them at the Golbat. The wall of leaves overwhelmed the Golbat. Anything unfortunate enough to be in the attack would be turned into bloody mush.

The putrid mixture of bones, organs, and blood rained onto the floor all around Ash's bed. Half of the Golbat that had come were dead, the remaining half split again, deciding they would have better luck elsewhere.

* * *

It was frantic a dash to nowhere in the darkness, everyone ran and ran, bouncing off walls or crashing into them painfully. Misty knew her way around the gym even in the darkness, though the same could not be said for the others who were just getting to know the place.

Brock ran so hard that he couldn't stop himself and painfully slammed his nose against the wall, falling back in utter pain. He could hear the others run ahead of him, unaware that they were leaving him behind.

"_I'm screwed, I'm dead. They'll come for me any second. I can't believe it, the plan failed! We're all gonna die. My brothers and sisters, Mom, Dad, Ash, Misty. I hope they can get away. She has Happiny. Wait, my Pokemon_!"

The blinding pain made him mute for the time being, unable to call for help, unable to summon his Pokemon. All he could do was wait, struggling futilely until the pain faded away.

His hands were on his face, pressing against his nose to numb the pain. He had been on the ground now for fifteen seconds.

"_I've been down too long, they're gonna kill me…I'm dead_!" the words kept repeating in his mind. Another fifteen seconds passed, his pain had subsided and nothing had happened.

Brock wiped the stray tears that had collected at the edges of his eyes from the pain. He rolled along the floor until he hit a wall, quickly pressed his entire body against it. The sounds of battle were a dull murmur in the distance; he had been running so fast he hadn't noticed how far he had traveled.

* * *

Turtwig sat in the corner, watching as the Golbat from above dodged the Bullet Seeds and Razor Leaves. The downside to Leaf Hurricane was that it weakened all attacks after it immensely, making them less accurate and damaging.

The three didn't try to show it, but it was becoming painfully obvious to the Golbat once the leaves and seeds began to bounce off them without any damage. Turtwig felt useless, there was no room for him in the combination move, he hadn't learned Leaf Storm yet.

The way the others looked at him when he attempted to enter the fight instantly told him to stay out of their way, despite the fact that he was a Sinnoh Pokemon. On top of that, the Golbat were intimidating and looked capable of killing him easily.

The Golbat above began to open their mouths even wider, visible rings began to fire from their mouths. Sceptile, Meganium, Ivysaur, and Ash came within the range of their Supersonic; Turtwig was literally left out of the loop.

From Turtwig's point of view, the other three were acting strange, their attacks were no longer aiming for the Golbat, but everything around them or in the complete opposite direction.

One of the Golbat dove for Ash's body, seeing him as the easiest meal to capture. Mr. Mime rolled out from under the bed, thrusting his good arm at the Golbat and enveloping it in the purple aura of his Psychic attack.

Bones snapped internally, limbs jerked in directions they were never meant to move. The Golbat was rapidly crumpled together in mid air, its entire skeleton was broken, and somehow it was still barely alive. Mr. Mime moved the twitching fleshy ball into the air, dangling it in front of the other Golbat.

This was too much for the other Golbats to resist, two of them flocking over to the fleshy ball. The silent gurgling screams did nothing to deter the Golbats from feasting on what had once been their comrade, now their free meal.

Now was the perfect chance to strike at the three Golbat and wipe them all out at once. Sceptile opened his mouth, attempting to aim a Bullet Seed at the dining duo. Mr. Mime's expression changed from one of hope, to one of despair as the Bullet Seed fired over Ash's head, barely missing him and puncturing holes into the wall.

The sound sobered the two Golbats that had finished their meal, Mr. Mime threw the corpse away, unable to keep it sustained in the any longer. The third Golbat who hadn't taken part in eating the morsel sent another Supersonic attack, this time at Mr. Mime.

The rings stopped short of Mr. Mime's location and dispersed, Mr. Mime's ability called Soundproof allowed it to be unaffected by any sound based move. Mr. Mime winced as he rolled; he had put most of his body weight on his broken arm. Another psychic attack enveloped the more controlled Golbat. The same fate as its predecessor befell this new Golbat, now just a bag of skin holding broken bones and ruptured innards.

The remaining two Golbat were not as foolish this time, they had quenched most of their hunger, enough to think straight. Mr. Mime slammed the Golbat ball into the ground, making a sickening crunch and splatter. The eyes of one of the Golbat began to glow purple. Mr. Mime tried to close his eyes, but it was too late; the subtlest glow from their Confuse Ray would catch you in the attack, that was the reason it was so effective.

The Golbat swooped down, Mr. Mime and the others unable to do anything unless they wanted a sharp migraine. Mr. Mime could do nothing, afraid that it might hurt someone with a stray psychic attack like Sceptile or Ash. He couldn't allowed what happened in Pallet to happen again…

* * *

Dawn pressed her hand against the wall, panting rapidly with her quivering legs threatening to fail on her. She could hear similar sounds coming from Jessie, James, and Meowth. Carnivine hadn't even broken a sweat, poised to strike anything that attacked them from where they had come from.

Once Dawn had caught her breath she began looking for the others.

"James? Are you there?" Dawn gasped.

"I am" he replied.

"Same here" Jessie added.

"Me three" Meowth wheezed.

"Brock? Brock…Misty?" Dawn whispered into the dark, echoing halls of solitude.

"They're not with you?" James asked.

"We thought…they were with you" Jessie said, catching her breath.

"No! I thought they were with- Oh no, this is really bad; we must've gotten separated back there. We should go back."

"Back dere? Where all da Golbat are? Where we jus ran from? We can hardly see, how da ya expect us to find our way back?" Meowth replied.

"We can't just leave them back there, they would've gone back if it were you three. How can you even think of not trying to help them after all they've done to you, fed _you_, let **you **sleep in their homes, protected YOU!!!"

Dawn couldn't see the guilt that wracked their faces, their slumped shoulders. She didn't even give them a chance to respond, making a brisk turn in the direction she assumed they had come from. "If you're not gonna do anything, then I will" she yelled, forgetting that they had been quiet so to not alert the Golbat of their position.

James and the others didn't expect to hear the distancing footsteps, the echoes of her every step bounced off the walls, making them unable to follow her path.

* * *

Brock had calmed down enough that he had been able to begin to think clearly. "Crobat" He whispered, making a flash that outlined the form of the four-winged bat Pokemon.

Brock used the light from his pokeglov that dimly lit the keypad he used. He mimicked Tracy's movements, pressing the same things that Tracy had pressed back at the cave. "Crobat, screech just like last time" Brock ordered, plugging his ears as hard as he could. The walls seemed to oscillate from the sound; Brock was able to mildly block out some of it. Once it ended, Brock immediately moved the screen of the pokeglov to his eyes. The fact that there had been halls and rooms had helped map out the gym with the screech, something that couldn't have been done out in the open.

A three dimensional map of the gym was created before his very eyes. Crobat and Brock observed what was happening. It was like seeing everything at once, they could see that Mr. Mime was going to be attacked, Snorlax's standoff with the Golbat, Dawn about to encounter what Misty was being chased by.

These images were only from seconds ago, Brock had to decide what he was going to do with what he had seen. From the looks of it, there was nothing that he could do to save Misty, leaving that task to Dawn, hoping that she made it in time.

"Crobat, go help them, blast through the south wall!!! Pierce straight through the left wall and don't let up, Steelix!!!" Brock yelled.

* * *

Misty ran as fast as she could, stopping only inches from walls as she had walked these walls before and had them memorized in her head. Happiny squeaked along the entire way, forgetting that any loud noises could attract attention from the Golbat to them. The attack came without warning, coming down in front of her, followed by a rain of rubble.

A clean cut had just dropped from above her, missing her by a few inches. She and Happiny were unable to suppress a scream at the close call. Spinning on her heel and running in the other direction, almost stumbling over herself.

Misty didn't make if far, after only a few steps before another blade of air dropped from the sky and crashed in front of Misty. A section of the ceiling collapsed, riding it down was a Golbat. It's eyes were full of scarlet veins, almost as if it hadn't slept in a long time, which wasn't the case. The red glow of the Mean Look draped sky, bathing the Golbat in a crimson glow.

Drool drizzled from its mouth, making puddles as it approached Misty, step by step. Its eyes glared at Misty and Happiny, eager with hope, mad with hunger, filled with rage at having its feast be so delayed. The flutter of another Golbat reached Misty's ears. Both of her ways out were now blocked.

The second Golbat watched with interest, showing no desire to get in the way of its crazed companion and into an unnecessary conflict. Misty stood frozen; knowing that any step she took would lead her towards death. The famished Golbat took slow deliberate steps towards her, relishing the fear that filled her.

Her heart willed her to scream but it was choked in her throat; instead, all she could do was take quick, shallow breaths. The area around her heart began to pain her, the harsh beating against her rib cage threatened to have her heart burst out. The ends of her rasps began to form shrieks, her body was paralyzed, the chill running deep and flowing through the marrow of her bones.

All the while, her arms tightened around Happiny, bringing a squeak out of her. The sound brought Misty to her senses but enticed the Golbat's hunger even more. Misty looked down, seeing the fear that had taken hold of Happiny, fear that completely outweighed hers.

"_She must be more frightened than I am" _Misty realized, fearfully staring back at the Golbat that advanced towards her._ "That look in its eyes, it wants to eat her_!" Misty gradually understood, the warmth of courage replacing the cold. Her stance changed, defiant and protective, Misty's motherly instincts had kicked in, even at the point of certain death. The ravenous Golbat began to breath heavily, but suddenly took a step back and flinched.

Misty had taken a step towards it, "I won't let you touch her," Misty screamed, her body twisted away from the Golbat, putting as much distance between it and Happiny.

"_What can I do? I can't throw her, no one's around to help me. Maybe they'll be satisfied with me and won't eat her, that's all I can hope for. I never thought it would turn out this way, I can't believe everything went so horribly wrong. I hope that I can meet up with everyone else again, my only regret…is that Ash never…_"

The Golbat's hesitation was short-lived; it lunged forward baring its glistening fangs. Misty aimed her body in the direction of Golbat's mouth, using her body as a shield. She would curl up into a ball and shelter Happiny from their blood sucking mouths. This would be her final act of love for Happiny, and Happiny understood full well what was happening, squealing in protest.

The next thing she heard was something make a "shink" noise, a horrid and bloody gurgle, and eventually, a death rasp. The leathery wings flopped to the ground lifelessly; another shink sound was heard as Samurai pulled his blade out of the dead Golbat's brain.

Samurai flicked his katana in a random direction, flinging the brain fluid and blood and leaving the blade's surface spotless. The Golbat slumped backwards and landed on the ground with a soft thud, blood pooling from its body.

Misty turned around and looked in amazement, unsure that she was even still alive. The Golbat behind her was also stunned; it hadn't expected something like this to happen. It hadn't even smelled the human or heard it sneak up behind them, even with its unmatched hearing.

Misty was about to whisper thanks when she truly looked at Samurai.

She had seen his initial movements to be smooth when he polished his blade with the air, but that grace no presented itself from him anymore. His breaths were ragged; sweat drenched his face. It was a feat in its self that he had snuck away, run all the way here, and come to fight to protect her.

His entire body was trembling, not from fear, but from complete exhaustion. Samurai's arms and legs trembled against his will, he willed his blade to be steady but it was no use. Every muscle in his body screamed for him to drop to the ground and rest, it was becoming harder and harder for him to ignore.

The Golbat on the other side mistook his shivering for fright. Without warning, both charged at each other. A blade of wind was born from the tip of Golbat's wing that it used as a sword.

The walls to his sides were cut, the plates of his armor took the brunt of the attack while the sword in his hands only having a tiny etch where it collided with the Golbat's blade to commemorate the quarrel.

It had taken all his strength to cut through the attack, now completely drained as his endurance had been pushed to the limit.

"WATCH OUT!!!" Misty screamed; Samurai's blade had parted the attack, but not the Golbat. Samurai's arms no longer listened to him, unable to lift his sword any higher or lower against the Golbat. On his honor, the sword never fell from his hands, but his paralyzed hands could only bob in the presences of the Golbat's afterimage in front of him.

Two sharp fangs pierced the armor on his shoulders, burrowing deep into his skin. Misty screamed, all reason was lost as she watched the person before her being slowly devoured.

Samurai's vision began turning whiter and whiter with every ounce of his blood being drained. He felt his hands become cold and numb, the painful burning chill made his lifeless limbs ache. The sound of his sword scraping against the ground reached his ears. His head felt light; his entire body began to shiver from the cold, his teeth were gritted as he refused to scream.

"_If this is to be my end…if I am to reunite with my Metapod and Pinsir, if this was as far as my strength could take me, if this is my destiny, then I will make sure that I bring this son of a bitch with me_"

The blade twirled in Samurai's hands almost gracefully, reposition the blade for his final attack. Misty watched horrified, knowing full well that she could do something by putting Happiny somewhere and summoning a Pokemon or attacking the Golbat while it was vulnerable, but her body rejected any advance towards any action. She didn't know if it was fear or not, the thought that she would be next on the menu elicited no response of movement from her body.

Samurai's legs buckled from underneath him, his entire body slipping and falling to the ground, the sound of his sword sheathing through flesh was heard. The silver katana now protruded through the Golbat's skull, its entire body going limp.

He had aimed carefully, making sure that the blade stabbed in between his ribs and encountering no bone or seriously damaging vital organs. Death would not claim him from his suicide; it would literally come from his blood loss. He had used his own body weight, gravity, and the fact that his legs could no longer sustain him to sheath his blade through himself.

His face remained chiseled in a solemn stare towards nowhere; he had no strength to move the blade in any direction. This was one of the ways of the Samurai, Seppuku. It was one of the most honorable ways of suicide if a samurai could no longer fight. A bit of consolation came to Samurai, knowing that he had killed the Golbat in the process, but shame that he had no more strength to gut himself and complete the ritual.

Misty's legs finally seemed to work; letting her run over to Samurai's hunched and kneeling body. Tears brimmed in her eyes, mourning over the fate of her savoir. Misty fell to her knees, their eyes meeting but unable to say anything more than the word, "Why?" to him.

She wanted to ask him why he had done so much for her, they had barely known each other, she had never treated him nicer than everyone else, he had received no special treatment from her.

Samurai nodded, understanding full well the meaning behind the single word she had uttered. He was only able to say one word in his raspy voice before he closed his glazed eyes; it was "friend."

* * *

Dawn felt her way through the black hallway, listening for the distant echoing sounds of battle to guide her. At the end of the hallway she saw two lights, "_could they be Misty and Brock_?" She thought, heading towards them as fast as she could, her hand sliding against the wall.

As she drew closer, she began to slow down; something about the lights seemed off as they flickered in the darkness with a glossy and wet sheen. It was then that the two white blobs drew closer to her.

Dawn instinctively took a step back, slipping and falling on the ground in a single fluid motion. The Golbat took the opportunity to lunge at her when a deafening explosion came from the side. It was like watching a metallic train pass through the house; Dawn recalled seeing a large pair of metallic jaws open and crunch down on the bewildered Golbat.

The metallic spikes on the sides flew a few inches over Dawn's head. At the speed that they were going, had Dawn been standing, she would've been decapitated. A stampede of footsteps came from behind her. Dawn turned around, seeing that James, Jessie, and Meowth had come, along with every single Pokemon in their pokeglov. Dawn could see the resolve in their eyes, they were willing to fight and protect their comrades.

"What happened over here?" James asked, his voice full of concern as he stared at the large gaping hole in the wall.

"Are you okay?" Meowth inquired, walking over to Dawn and attempting to help her up.

"I'm okay, I think that was Brock's Steelix, it just saved me from a Golbat" Dawn explained.

"Where's Brock?" Jessie asked, pointing her pokeglov's flashlight in various directions.

"I think if we follow where Steelix came from, we might find him" Dawn suggested.

* * *

Snorlax had rested up and looked around, so far, nothing had happened, nothing was out of place. The Golbat were still in a stalemate with him, they had attacked a few times. His earlier impassive reaction to all their attacks had helped him hide the he was asleep.

He still had some idea of what they had done while he was resting, it was vague, but it was enough. His subconscious had also played a part in keeping them at bay. Whenever a Golbat got too close, Snorlax would use Sleep Talk, randomly selecting an attack between Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, and Mega Punch.

Although the physical moves had no chance of making contact, the force behind them was still menacing enough to keep them away, the strong breeze it made also added on to the effect. Snorlax had used Amnesia to raise his defense against the Air Cutters; the only downside was that Snorlax had to temporarily forget something.

With so many attacks in his repertoire, he was able to get rid of the useless ones, leaving only Hyper beam and the other two attacks, that way, Sleep Talk could only randomly pick those three.

From the Golbat's point of view, Snorlax had been conscious this entire time, firing warning shots, showing off his strength, and the few close calls they had when they got close would have never made them guess that Snorlax had only been randomly attacking in his sleep.

Now that most of his health had been recovered from the rest, Snorlax could focus on the one thing that he was a master of; sleep. Without even looking behind him, he could tell that Pikachu had woken up. The breathing rhythm and the heartbeat told him what he needed to know. Snorlax had very good senses of taste, hearing, and smell to compensate with their lack of sight and abundance of laziness, the strength and the iron stomach was also a plus.

The Golbat were beginning to lose interest, it was a contest between an unstoppable force and an unmovable object. This stalemate would not be decided within a few hours; it could go on until morning. This was something that the Golbat had no intention of waiting for. Two Golbat decided to leave the area, specifically a male and female Golbat. Snorlax watched in dismay, there was nothing he could do to stop them, not yet at least.

A new point of interest came to the attention of the Golbat in the corners of their eyes. They had seen the Pikachu behind Snorlax beginning to stir, not only that, but the Pikachu made the perfect target.

If they were to attack the Pikachu, should the Snorlax try to block it with his body, he would also leave the other human open to attack. Either way, they could win; this had been the opening that they had been looking for. By the time the thought occurred to them, the Pikachu's body began to fade away.

Using Agility, Quick Attack, and Double Team at the same time, Pikachu had left an afterimage behind while it jumped onto Snorlax's back and over his shoulder. The Thunderbolt hit one of the Golbat in between the eyes, killing it instantly and leaving a burning body on the ground.

The other Golbat immediately began to flee; some of them were hit in the back while others managed to escape. The few that did, didn't make it very far, a colossal red X appeared before them, some Golbat crashed into it when it materialized out of thin air.

Snorlax smiled, staring at his handiwork as it overlapped the Golbat's Mean Look. Snorlax had used Block, which like many of the undampened moves had two ways of executing them. There was the physical way, and then there was the projectile way. Mean Look had two ways as well; the user could stare at someone with the Mean Look and their eyes would be glowing, so that anyone who saw it would be caught by it. The Projectile way was what the Golbat had done earlier so to capture more prey within their attack.

The hunted had now trapped the hunters; Pikachu wiped them all out in a matter of seconds, and did it with a malicious smile.

* * *

There were only a few seconds between Mr. Mime and death; the Golbat was only a few seconds from him. The Golbat's body suddenly jerked backwards, Turtwig's jaw clamped over its leg and weighing it down. An explosion of rubble erupted from behind Mr. Mime. Turtwig let go at the last second before Crobat slammed into the Golbat's body, sending it into the sky.

The other Golbat stared in awe at Crobat, knowing full well that this was their messenger of death but couldn't help but gawk in admiration at the power and speed of what he himself could be, had there been a chance.

The Golbat that had just been attacked wasn't as captivated, deciding to escape since it had survived the initial attack. Crobat did them a favor and gave them a three second head start, before clearing the distance between them in one quarter of the time. His wings briefly pressed against their backs, before carving though them at the same time as he passed between them.

The thousand eyes in the sky faded away, leaving four large red Xs that boxed them in, and eventually that too faded away. From this height, Crobat could see the entire gym. A large thud brought his attention to Snorlax who had decided that it was going to sleep off the rest of the day, Pikachu leaning against him. Another explosion at the far end of the gym brought Crobat's attention to Steelix who had finished swallowing the Golbat it had devoured and gave a victory roar.

Crobat looked down, the confusion amongst the other Pokemon had worn off, they huddled around Ash's bed; he remained untouched throughout the entire affair. A male and Female Golbat had escaped, but they would no longer attack them for the remainder of the time they spent here.


	20. Good Knight and Good Mourning

**August 31**

* * *

Brock heard something coming from the hole that Steelix had made, it didn't sound big enough to be his Steelix. As they drew closer, he saw that it was Dawn, Jessie, James, Meowth, and every single Pokemon of the latter three. Brock wasn't even given a second to prepare for the embrace that Dawn gave him.

"Dawn, I'm glad to see that you're okay, and you guys as well" Brock said.

"Brock, you saved my life back there. I was gonna be eaten alive by that Golbat, the timing was too perfect. Did you know somehow?"

Brock gave a brief summary of what he did, showing them his pokeglov in the process.

Actually, if you look here, Jessie, James, and the others were only a few meters away from you and could've saved you as well. Steelix just managed to get there first; I thought that since the Golbat was so close to you, you should be my priority."

"What about Misty?" Jessie pointed out at the 3D map emitting from the pokeglov.

"If you look down the hall, you'll see that Samurai was heading in her direction, so I thought that my help wasn't needed. Let's go check on Ash, I sent my Crobat to go help his Pokemon."

Brock motioned towards the south hall; several holes made by Crobat had been made through the rooms, all in a straight row. Brock decided to maneuver himself through the holes rather than going through the hallways. The others followed, doing their best to avoid getting caught and cut on the steel bars and sharp jutting wood made.

It took them a few minutes but they reached the room, becoming instantly concerned when they saw that the Pokemon were all huddling around Ash's bed. Once they drew closer, they laid their worries to rest, seeing that Ash remained untouched.

"We should go find Misty and Samurai" Dawn suggested to Brock.

Brock nodded and gazed at Ash's Pokemon, "You guys take care of him while we're gone."

Sceptile stared back at Brock and nodded, turning his attention back to Ash who had snored softly. Brock pointed at Crobat, returning him back to his pokeglov, along with Steelix whom was in the distance.

Sceptile noticed something tugging at the side of Ash's bed sheets. Turtwig squirmed between Meganium and Ivysaur, attempting to climb the sheets.

When Turtwig noticed Sceptile eyeballing him, he ceased, deciding it would be best that he get a look at Ash later when everyone left. He wasn't big enough to get a good view of Ash, and with everyone crowding around him; it didn't make it any easier.

Turtwig began to walk away when something picked him up, moving him through air. Turtwig was surprised at this, flailing about until the hands placed him softly atop Ash's bed. Sceptile's yellow eyes looked at him, a smile on his lips and giving a nod of approval. It was a nod of recognition and acceptance to the team; it took Turtwig a while to understand why.

Mr. Mime's hand was held out to Turtwig, nodding and smiling as well.

"You saved my life" Mr. Mime explained in Pokemon.

"You did good kid, you've earned my respect. You have every reason to see our master and friend," Sceptile added.

Turtwig smiled back, receiving the same from Meganium and Ivysaur. He did his best not to move too much, so not to disturb Ash in his slumbering form.

* * *

Everyone was following Brock since he had the 3D map of the gym. Jessie and James had returned the rest of their Pokemon back to their pokeglovs, seeing as there was no reason to keep them outside anymore. After a minute of walking through hallways, they reached the area where Misty was.

The instant they heard Misty crying, they knew something had gone wrong. Brock couldn't help but jump to conclusions; the Golbat had killed Happiny. His imagination began to go on an unstoppable tangent. Had the Golbat attacked Happiny, had Happiny been caught in the crossfire of attacks, or worse yet…Misty had used Happiny as a scapegoat to escape death!

"_No you idiot, Misty would never do that, she'd rather let herself die rather than sacrifice Happiny_" Brock corrected himself, storming into through the hallway faster as did everyone.

What they saw shocked them; it was something that they hadn't expected to ever happen. The possibility had never occurred to them because it had been so ludicrous for them to even imagine. But there he was, Samurai was bowed downwards, a dead Golbat draped over his shoulders like a blue leather cape. The blade pierced them both, Misty sobbing at his side, Happiny jostling in her arms.

Brock immediately darted towards Misty, kneeling down and holding her shoulders to calm her down.

"Misty, Misty…are you okay?" Brock asked, doing his best to soothe her and calm her down.

"I…I'm fine, bu…but…but" He blubbered, her hand to weak to hold itself up and point at Samurai.

Brock hugged her, gently turning her away from the scene, letting her cry onto his shoulder.

"It's okay, Misty. It's all going to be okay" Brock reassured, sliding his hands along her back and up to the back of her head on her hair.

"It's my fault, it's my fault he…he" Misty choked, her nose was stuffed and her eyes had become red and puffy.

"No, no it's not your fault, it's not" Brock consoled, but his efforts were hollow.

James looked away, punching the closest wall he could find, bowing his head in grief. Jessie tried some stray tears with her handkerchief, but her forlorn face was nothing compared to Dawn's. She was on her hands and knees, making no attempt to hide the fact that she was crying. Her entire body was quivering; her loud cries were no longer held back.

Dawn's screams only added to Misty's sadness, nothing would make her forget what she had just seen before her eyes. Brock looked down and saw Happiny, he didn't want her to see something that graphic, making sure his body blocked the entire scene.

"Is she okay?" Brock asked, seeing if changing the subject would work.

"She's fine" Misty replied, her tone had changed, handing Happiny to Brock. The exchange of hands happened so fast that Happiny had no time to protest. Her expression from annoyance changed to one of shock when she felt Brock's loving embrace enveloping her. The warmth that radiated from him, the cold grudge she had held against him seemed to melt away. This was what reminded her that Brock truly loved her; the warmth of her love seemed to grow inside her as well.

Her vision began to go whiter and whiter until she could no longer see, she felt as though a flash was coming out of her body, like her small body could no longer contain all the love that filled her.

Misty and Brock began to back away from Happiny who had begun to glow a bright white. The outline of her body began to enlarge and mold into a different shape, then slowly dim. Misty and Brock both were astounded at their Happiny who had just evolved into a Chansey.

The pink egg Pokemon waddled over to her supposed parents, giving them both a hug with her longer arms. Brock hadn't expected this to happen so soon; Misty understood full well what happened.

The combined love of her near sacrifice, and Brock's accepting love despite the fact that Happiny was angry with him made her evolve faster than normal. It had taken Misty a good year or more to make Togepi evolve, then again, she had insisted on caring for Togepi by herself.

It was now that Misty realized how foolish that idea was, a child needed two loving parents to grow properly. Had the fact that she no longer had a dampener made her evolution come faster, Misty wasn't sure; but she knew that with the more people that loved a baby Pokemon, the faster it evolved.

Chansey began to point at Samurai's body happily; at first, Misty was reluctant, but wondered why Chansey would be so cheerful about what she saw. Brock was the first to notice what was happening. When he first looked at Samurai, his skin had been pale and shriveled. Now that he stared at it, there was color in Samurai's skin and it seemed fuller.

Misty caught on quickly, saying it before Brock had a chance to say it himself.

"He's alive! I can't believe it! He's alive!" Misty screamed, new tears now brimming in her eyes, now ones of joy.

"It's a miracle" Dawn whispered to herself; Brock walked over to Samurai's body, noticing something different about the Golbat on his back. Earlier, the Golbat had become plumper having sucked all of Samurai's blood. Now it was becoming thinner as Samurai was getting his blood back.

Brock could only guess that the section of the brain where Samurai stabbed the blade had triggered the Golbat to release all the blood it had sucked through its fangs. Brock used his pokeglov, and after pressing a few buttons he found a health reader, finding Samurai's heart beating once more.

Brock reached out to pull the Golbat off Samurai's body but stopped halfway.

"What are you waiting for?" Dawn asked, now on her feet and wiping her tears.

"I'm not sure whether Samurai's gotten all of his blood back, we have no way to give him more blood. We don't even know what blood type he is, we would if he wore a pokeglov," Brock explained.

Chansey went over and tugged on the edge of Brock's shirt, saying something to him. Brock looked to Meowth for a translation, which came swiftly just as soon as Chansey had finished speaking.

"She says that she can heal him by using one of her moves, Soft-boiled" Meowth translated.

"Soft-boiled! That's perfect!" Brock exclaimed. Soft-boiled was an interesting move that could be used to heal a users Pokemon without using a potion or going to the Pokemon center, it was like having your own personal health kit, which of course was only operational once they were out of harms way.

Brock nodded, walking over to the limp Golbat atop Samurai's body, it's leathery, membrane wings were beginning to become pale, the veins clearly visible. If anything, the Golbat had become smaller in girth.

Brock managed to lift the Golbat off Samurai's back, blood from the Golbat's skull drizzled over Samurai's wounds. The Golbat's body was dropped into a corner nonchalantly, and with a steady hand, Brock lifted Samurai's body into a sitting position. Misty came over and held Samurai in place while Brock moved over and pulled the blade out of Samurai's midsection.

As soon as he did, Chansey created out of light, an orb in the shape of an egg. She waddled over and pressed it against Samurai's body, Misty watched with bewilderment at Samurai's wounds that closed up and disappeared without so much as a scar.

* * *

The constant whispering around him and the bright light that invaded past his eyelids were what woke him up in the first place. His vision was blurred at first; all he could see was a bunch of multicolored blobs before him, shifting somewhat.

"Morning Ash" he heard someone say, from the sound of it, he was sure it was a girl.

Ash remained silent, staring at them quizzically as if they had spoken an alien language.

"Ash, are you okay?" Brock asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

"I hope he wasn't hit too hard," James murmured.

"Could have amnesia," Meowth added in.

"Don't even joke like that," Dawn reprimanded.

Pikachu flew out of nowhere and jumped onto Ash's lap, Ash recognized the sound of his best friend immediately. In that instant, he memory had been jogged, clearing the fog from his mind.

"Pikachu! It's so great to see you buddy." Ash cried out, giving Pikachu a huge hug.

"Well that goes to show you how important we are to him" Brock jokingly commented.

"Brock! Is that you? I can barely see anything"

"Well that shouldn't be a problem, your sight should come back, if not, then we'll just have Chansey specifically heal and restore your vision with Soft-boiled."

"_Chansey? Is this the Pokemon center_?"

For the briefest second, Ash played with the thought that he was in the Pokemon center, on his way to get his next badge. That he had been sick with something and out for some time, in a few hours he would be leaving to the next town with Dawn and Brock for the next adventure, catching new Pokemon and fighting off Team Rocket. Yet, his other memories fought for dominance for the reality over what really occurred.

No matter how hard he fought his own mind, he couldn't convince himself that everything he had gone through, wasn't just an incredibly vivid dream, or rather a nightmare.

His mom and Oak were still dead, his hometown was still destroyed, and he and the others were still fighting for survival.

"Where are we?" Ash asked.

"We're in the Cerulean gym, or at least, what's left of it" Dawn answered.

"What's left of it?" Ash pondered while blinked a few times, trying to bring his vision back faster. The sunlight bothered his eyes making him use his hands to block it.

"_Wait? Sunlight_?"

Ash's gaze turned to the ceiling, or more specifically, the skies above since there was no longer was a ceiling. He knew it was the sun from the natural warmth that came from the yellow bright light above him.

"Am I going crazy or is there no roof in here?"

"You're not crazy Ash, just wait till you see everything" Brock explained.

"How long was I out? What happened while I was gone?"

Everyone remained silent, unsure of what to tell him.

"You won't believe what happened" Tracy yelled from across the room.

Ash's head turned towards the sound that came from his side, what came next was unexpected.

A loud snore came from the far end of the room; Ash didn't recognize it as Snorlax's voice. A few chuckles came from the direction of Brock, Dawn, and James.

"What was that?" Ash asked.

"Samurai" Dawn giggled; Samurai was taking a well-deserved sleep that they all needed.

The sound of Dawn giggling made Ash unconsciously smile; he hadn't heard her laugh in a long time. As his eyes focused on her, his vision began to become clearer, until he could finally see perfectly.

It was then Misty's face came into his view, and Ash was left speechless. Throughout the entire time he had awoken, she hadn't spoken a single word to him. She was biting her lip, struggling desperately to hold her tears in. She struggled with every step that she took towards him. Ash could only watch as she walked over to him and threw herself into him.

Dawn's envy peaked a bit, but she let it slide, seeing as how this was a heartfelt moment between friends. The others understood, and began making their way to the door, Dawn being the last to leave.

Dawn closed the door, making sure that the others had left; she closed the door to Ash's room.

"I'll give her as much time as she wants for today." Dawn mumbled to herself, making her way down the halls of the gym. After a few steps, she tiptoed back and placed her ears on the door.

"_If she thinks that I'm gonna give her the privacy to do whatever she wants with him she's got another thing coming_."

Misty unleashed a river of tears that she had been holding back. Ash didn't mind at first, deciding the best thing to do was to hug her back to consol her.

I'b sorry" Misty choked, lifting her head slightly from Ash's tear soaked shoulder.

"It's okay, I don't mind" Ash comforted her as he thought best.

"Bud I'b crying all ober you" she countered.

"Don't worry about it" he replied, feeling it was only natural that he rested his face atop her head. The scent of her orange hair glided into his nose, her own unique scent, distinct to only her and her alone. It wasn't a good smell, but it wasn't a bad one either, it was…distinct.

It was something that he had never noticed; then again, he had never been close and stayed long enough to do this. Before he could give the topic any more thought, Misty raised her head once more from the small tear-stained puddle on his shirt.

"Your voice?" she managed to say normally.

"What about it?" was Ash's puzzled reply.

"It's deeper…you're really starting to grow up," she said with a certain amount of pride in her voice.

"We haven't seen each other in a while, a lot of things about me have changed. You haven't changed at all, you're exactly how I remember you"

Misty frowned at the comment, "I've changed while you were gone too you know"

"Oh really?" Ash smirked, "_this is good, at least she's calmed down now._"

Dawn couldn't help but risk opening the door by just a crack, just listening wasn't enough to sate her curiosity. As far as she could tell, no one had noticed her presence; she began to wonder if she was starting to get good at this sort of thing.

"I'm so sorry that this all happened" Misty apologized.

"What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Misty asked incredulously.

"Vaguely" Ash replied, shrugging his shoulders with complete honesty in his eyes.

Misty knew that she would have to explain what had happened, the fact that she had been the catalyst of it made all the more difficult.

"Well…I was hidden underwater…"

* * *

Misty took the next hour explaining everything that happened since Ash had been bedridden. Tracy also decided to take part in the explanation from his bed only a few feet from Ash's. He had been slightly injured during the Golbat raid, Chansey had healed up most of his wounds for him, but misty insisted that Tracy rest in bed.

Samurai woke up halfway through the story telling and decided to add his part of the battle while Tracy went into detail about the preparations for the battle that came beforehand.

Part of Ash wished that he had been awake to see it all happen.

After the story had ended, Ash began to try and get up, Misty disapproving immediately

"Ash, you shouldn't get up, you need your rest." Misty said, attempting to gently force Ash back to his bed. Ash could not be swayed so easily, over powering Misty easily, "I feel fine, no…I feel great"

"Chansey's healing move fixed you up better than I thought, the readings on your pokeglov say that you're perfectly fine." Tracy said out loud as he read Ash's stats on his pokeglov.

Tracy also began to get up from his bed and attempt walking; he was more successful in it than Ash whose body had become somewhat stiff from resting. Samurai made no intention of getting up; Soft-boiled could heal wounds, but not erase fatigue.

Ash wobbled over to Samurai, all of his armor had been taken off and neatly set aside at the base of his bed, as well as his sword.

"How're you doing man?" Ash knew it must've been a stupid question to ask someone who had a close encounter with death.

"It is apparently not my time to go, I believe that I am still alive for a reason, I've been given this second chance to live. I will find out what my purpose for living is and pursue until it is truly my time to go."

No one was quite sure what to say to that comment, unsure of what do to next, like pretending he said nothing or wishing him the best of luck.

Ash forced a smile, placing his hand on Samurai's shoulder, "I wish you the best of luck and hope that you find what you're looking for."

"What if finding your purpose will lead you away from us?" Tracy asked.

"I shall not forget the debt that I owe you for helping me have my second chance. I don't believe that I shall leave you; I hope that on our journey may cross the path of my purpose. Staying with you may bring me closer to my purpose rather than distancing it from me. I believe our fates may be intertwined."

Tracy nodded, giving a mental sigh of relief; Samurai was an indispensable part of their group. They might not have been survived on many occasions had it not been for his skill with a blade. Others began making their way out of the room, leaving Samurai alone in his bed.

Samurai's hand rose to his face, he let out a long sigh. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was different. He felt different; he wondered whether it was all in his head. Any person would feel a little different after having a brush with death, but the sensation he felt was different.

He was grateful for being alive; he had steeled himself to not fear death, if anything he could welcome it if he wanted to. But he didn't feel that this was what he was feeling. The more he stared at them the more he felt inclined to something; no one had noticed that he had leaned forward subtly. It was an urge that tugged at the back of his mind; he didn't know what it wanted him to do. All he did know was that whenever he saw the others, the sensation would come. Whether this new sensation could help or hurt the others, he could not let them know about it.

* * *

The next two days were spent having a well-deserved rest. Misty surveyed the damage that had been done to the gym. It saddened her to see the destruction; the rooms of her sisters, not to mention her room were trashed.

Their second day was spent packing up for the journey ahead; Misty was having a hard time trying to find what to take with her. There weren't exactly essential things, but she wanted to take a little bit of home with her. If she could, she would've loved to take everything, but that was out of the question.

She debated what she should take; making sure Tracy wasn't around to reprimand her for doing something so foolish. In the end, she decided that she to take the one thing that would embody the symbol of her home, something that was essentially the family crest. She held the cascade badge, convincing herself that she would only need this to remind her of home and her sisters. Stuffed animals, family portraits, and other objects had been destroyed from the attack.

She had dozens of spare badges, but the one she held in her hands now was the original badge. All the other badges were created in the likeness of this one, the original badge for the Cerulean gym. Most gym leaders made their original badge and then made copies. Only the copies would be given to trainers that had defeated him or her, and the original was given to the successor of the gym.

The original cascade badge had been made out of crystal, cut into the shape of a drop of water. A blue hue came from it, and in the light, rainbows were created from light passing through the facets.

The badge had been originally attached to a necklace that belonged to Misty's mother. Misty was too young to remember her mother's face when she had died, all she had to go on concerning what her mother looked like were pictures around the house and what her sisters had told her.

When the sickness claimed her mother, Misty's father couldn't take it, and left without a word. Daisy, Violet, and Lily took it upon themselves to help support themselves and try raising her. Despite the fact that she was treated like the runt of the litter, she appreciated the love and care she received.

"I see, so you're taking the original with you"

Misty flinched and wheeled around to see Brock had been looming over her shoulder.

"How long have you been there?" Misty snapped.

"Calm down, I just got here a second ago and I noticed that you're taking the original cascade badge with you" Brock explained.

Misty sighed and looked at Brock once more, "so you took the original badge to your gym as well?"

"Not exactly" Brock said as he pulled out a boulder badge and presented it to Misty, "this is a fake one, the real one is with my dad, but I took one for the same reason you did. The original badge for my gym is actually made out of solid pewter, my father found a giant boulder of it. He chipped a piece of it and turned it into a badge, he showed it to me when I first got Onyx. We make the give away boulder badges from other materials, not from the original pewter."

"Was it able to comfort you seeing as you couldn't take all of your home with you?" Misty asked solemnly.

"A bit. Every time I feel it in my pockets or look at it, it reminds me what I'm living for, what I have to go back to"

"Then what about _me_? What about _me_ whose entire family is gone, my home is destroyed. _You_ still have _your_ family, _your_ home is still intact, WHAT DO I HAVE TO GO BACK TO?" Misty screamed furiously.

Brock flinched, hoping no one had heard her scream so not to bring more attention where it wasn't needed.

Misty began to cry again, turning her face away from Brock's eyes and trying to cover her face. Her face was hot, not from embarrassment, but from anger. Jealousy and resentment at almost everything that she knew and loved was slipping between her fingers like sand.

"Misty, I'm sorry. I-"

"GO AWAY!" Misty screeched, forcing Brock to step back out of the room, but not completely. Brock could hear a flurry of footsteps coming in the direction of the room. They stopped short of the room, peeking around the corner and seeing Brock halfway across the room, but standing his ground.

"Before I go, I just want to know…why are you coming with us? If everything that you've loved is gone, then why go with us? It's not only because it's safer with us, I know you're not that heartless. I thought…I thought that we were friends, I thought we were important to you, and that we were one of the only things left that you cared about."

Misty's eyes widened at his last comment, guilt pouring into her at what she had said. She hadn't lost _everything_. The sole reason she was going with them was because this place had nothing else to give her.

She looked up; there was a mirror before her, reflecting back the image of a distraught and hapless girl. Her eyes were reddened from the frequent tears she shed; the light in her eyes had dimmed.

"Is that…me?" Misty thought to herself, unable to recognize herself at first.

Misty's hand reached over to the mirror, her reflection doing the same. Her sadness had taken its toll on her body.

"_I look horrible, why didn't anyone say anything_?" She asked herself. Surely they must've noticed that she looked different. The more she looked at herself; the more and more she hated the person in the mirror.

This wasn't the image of herself that she always envisioned; it was someone else. She wanted to look like she used to, someone strong, proud, and powerful, albeit a bit tomboyish.

"I've cried too much, and that has to stop. Crying isn't going to change anything, it never will. I'm not going to cry anymore," Misty whispered to herself as she stood up.

* * *

People quickly followed Brock down the hallway, leaving Misty back in the room. There were no questions asked despite the obvious curiosity among all of them, but if Brock hadn't told them, then it wasn't something that they really needed to know. Brock immediately went back to packing, everyone else doing the same.

Within a few hours, everyone had readied their bags and began heading towards the exit of the building. They waited outside, Misty had yet to come out yet, and no one seemed willing to venture inside to retrieve her.

At that moment it looked as if it wasn't necessary as Misty stepped out of the gym's doors. Everyone's eyes widened, even Samurai couldn't help but be a little surprised.

The Misty that they had seen inside the gym had died; the Misty that stood before them was a new one. To Ash and Brock, this wasn't a new Misty; this was the old Misty that they had traveled with years ago.

She had washed her face, straightened her hair, and done everything to look and start the journey fresh. Her hair no longer sported her signature side ponytail but rather fell to her shoulders. She was also wearing the same yellow dress that she had worn when she went to Mirage Island.

"Are you gonna stare, or are we gonna start walking?" Misty smiled, the fire in her eyes burning anew. Ash and Brock smiled, the others did the same and nodded, turning on their heels and walking. Brock and Ash waited a minute before walking, Misty pulled up in between them, giving them both a hug.

"You two are one of the most important people in my life," She whispered before running ahead of them. Samurai turned in Misty's direction as she ran over to him; he hadn't been given a chance to speak before she kissed him on the cheek.

Ash, Dawn, Brock and the others gawked at the scene; Samurai blushed furiously.

"What was that-" Samurai stuttered.

"I have to reward my rescuer, don't I?" Misty giggled.

Tracy walked ahead, looking over the holographic map on his pokeglov. He was trying to correct the canceling of transfers when unconscious at the same time. There was one thing he was curious about. It shouldn't have taken an hour for Misty to come out to join them.

Naturally, girls took a lot of time getting themselves ready to leave somewhere, but Misty was a tomboy and she knew full well dressing nicely wouldn't be ideal on the journey they were taking.

"Why did she take so long then?" Tracy asked himself out loud.

* * *

Meowth remained quiet from behind him, choosing not to answer Tracy's question. He had seen what Misty was doing before he had left, being the last one to exit other than her. She had finished getting ready long before they had, taking the extra amount of time and using it to her advantage. He was curious to find out the finished result was.

Back at the Cerulean gym, in the farthest room, and in the center of the pool area. The walls, the floors, and even the ceiling were covered in a thick sheet of ice. In the center of the pool, there stood an ice sculpture. Three figures in the ice stood next to each other, each in a different pose. They had been perfectly formed into the exact likeness of Daisy, Violet, and Lily. At the base of the ice sculptures, words were carved into the ice.

**In memory of the sensational Cerulean sisters**

The sculptures would eventually melt, but her love and memory of them would never leave her.

* * *

**Once again, sorry for the crappy portions of writing not only in this chapter but my previous ones. It's my first fic but I know that's no excuse and I promise that my writing gets better as this goes on. If anything, feel free to check out Poke Wars: the Exigence as it's the my most recent work. Hope you enjoy whatever redeemable aspects of this fic that you find.  
**


	21. No Place LIke Homeless

**September 2**

* * *

Tracy felt confident as he walked forward, his eyes moving back and forth from the map on his pokeglov. They now had fifty-four Pokemon into total added to their arsenal. That kind of power could make almost anyone feel a lot more confident about their safety.

He knew he shouldn't let the thought get to his head, it would cloud his judgment and possibly get them into danger.

"WATCH OUT" Samurai screamed, unsheathing his sword.

Everyone's pokeglovs began to beep frantically; flashes from the summoning were everywhere.

Misty's pokeglov summoned Corsola, James summoned Carnivine, Dawn summon Prinplup, and Brock summoned Swampert. Everyone's pokeglovs were still on automatic from the fight against Misty's Pokemon inside the gym.

Their pokeglovs had scanned the area and encountered a Pokemon heading right for them. The pokeglovs systematically summoned the best Pokemon to combat the upcoming challenger.

Ash quickly realized that the Pokemon being summoned were water and grass types.

Samurai surged forward with almost inhuman speed, thrusting his blade in front of Ash. Sceptile who had just been summoned did the same thing with his leaf blade, as did Pikachu with his Iron Tail, crossing swords with Samurai.

The ground at Ash's feet dissolved as something burst through the earth and collided with the blades before Ash's face. Tracy who had neither water nor plant Pokemon couldn't summon anything; instead the only thing his pokeglov did was scan the Pokemon that had just attacked.

Ash's mind was blank for a few seconds; unable to identify what Pokemon it was, staring into its black glossy eyes. It was after a few seconds that the other details, like the Pokemon's face and body clicked into Ash's head.

Ash's body was frozen, he saw the Pokemon's other claw arched to attack and Ash knew there was no way for him to avoid it.

It was after two seconds that Ash realized that he was still alive; a purple glow enveloped the Sandslash before him. Mr. Mime had summoned himself; both his hands had cast Psychic to save Ash. Chansey had healed every Pokemon's wounds before they had left.

"_Sandslash, the mouse Pokemon, evolution of Sandshrew, it curls up and rolls onto its foes with its back. The sharp spines cause severe damage. It is a ground type. Average Height: 3ft : 65lbs._" Dexter's robotic voice explained, reaching only Tracy's ears.

The Sandslash's claw had been aimed at Ash's head, had Samurai and Sceptile not been there, Ash's brain would've been skewered. Mr. Mime lifted the Sandslash; an angry scowl was painted upon his face. He pondered how he would kill the Sandslash that had tried attacking his master.

Before he could do anything Ash yelled, "Stop Mr. Mime! Don't kill it!"

This had been the weirdest command anyone had ever given Mr. Mime, but he begrudgingly complied.

"What's the meaning of this Ash?" Samurai asked, pointing his blade at the levitated Sandslash.

Pikachu was the first to recognize the Sandslash, lowering his guard immediately.

"This Sandslash didn't attack me when it had the chance, you guys only blocked one of its claws, it had another claw ready to kill me. It stopped itself before Mr. Mime could use psychic on it" Ash pointed out.

Not everyone was willing to believe this, which was explainable, seeing as how they had been fighting for their lives against wild Pokemon.

"Mr. Mime, let him go" Ash ordered.

Mr. Mime was hesitant, giving Samurai a chance to speak.

"Ash, this thing tried to kill you, what's to stop it from trying again?"

"Well, if it's had a good look around, it would know that it's completely outnumbered and outmatched and run away" Ash countered.

Meowth managed to hear the captured Sandslash murmur in Pokemon under its breath, "Pfft, bring it on, I could take all of them."

"What if it runs away to alert other Sandslash and Sandshrew?" Samurai refuted.

Ash turned away from Samurai, looking at Tracy this time, "Tracy, can your pokeglov tell whether or not a Pokemon is owned by a trainer?"

Tracy pondered whether he had installed such a system on the pokeglov, and eventually nodded. He was already one step ahead of Ash, scanning the floating Sandslash.

It made sense to Tracy, the pokeglov had encountered a Pokemon, it didn't differentiate whether it was wild or captured. It seemed the more and more that they traveled, the more flaws he was finding with the pokeglov. "_I guess I learn more from my mistakes than I do with my successes_" Tracy thought as he finished scanning the Sandslash.

"The readings come out positive, this Sandslash was captured by a trainer," Tracy announced.

"See!" Ash said to Samurai.

"See what, that proves nothing, this Pokemon could've killed his master and become wild" Samurai replied, shaking his katana at the Sandslash.

The Sandslash shivered at the mention of the words, "killing his master."

"Sandslash, do you have a master?" Ash asked.

The Sandslash nodded

"Ash, Pokemon can lie" Samurai pointed out.

Ash ignored Samurai and continued, "Sandslash, if we let you go will you attack us?"

The Sandslash shook its head, only to be met with Samurai's hiss. Sceptile and everyone else's Pokemon calmed down, they felt no murderous intent inside Sandslash, at least not towards humans or them specifically.

"Sandslash, if we let you go, will you take us to your master?" Ash asked his last question.

The Sandslash nodded, and as much as Samurai disliked it, he too felt no murderous intent from the Sandslash. He refused to let his guard down around it, but found it difficult not to.

"Mr. Mime, let him go, I won't ask you again" Ash commanded. Mr. Mime hesitated for only a few seconds before releasing the Sandslash.

The second the Sandslash landed, Samurai became defensive, angling his sword in the best possible way to counter anything that the Sandslash could've thrown at him. His human instincts told him to be wary, but something also told him that there was no danger in trusting this Pokemon.

The Sandslash began walking away; pointing its claws in the direction it was going, beckoning them with a sweeping motion.

Pikachu climbed onto Ash's shoulder, everyone else kept their Pokemon out due to paranoia. Ash having no problem decided to walk up directly beside the Sandslash.

Misty and Dawn exhaled, relieved that Ash was in one piece, James and his group continued to hold up the rear.

"How did you know that the Sandslash wasn't going to kill you?"

"I…I don't really know, I just kinda…felt it, ya know. I just kinda knew it wasn't gonna hurt me" Ash replied sheepishly.

"That's interesting" Brock replied, saying nothing more on the subject. Despite knowing that the Sandslash wasn't going to attack them, the others continued to keep their distance.

Ash looked at the Sandslash, "Sorry about them, I hope you don't take it personally."

The Sandslash shrugged its shoulders apathetically and continued walking.

As they walked, Tracy couldn't help but be bothered by a tiny detail that he had noticed in the midst of the action.

Samurai had sensed the Sandslash before his pokeglov could.

* * *

It took only a few minutes before they reached the town that Sandslash was pointing to. Interestingly enough, that was the same town that they were headed towards. Standing at the entrance to the town was a young man with spiked green hair, and his arms crossed.

Ash's suspicions had been right, making him smile for keeping the Sandslash alive. The Sandslash curled into a ball, suspended by the spikes on his back; and began to roll over to its master.

"And here I was, thinkin I was the last damned person on his planet" the man said.

"It's been a while" Ash said, Brock and Misty slowly recognizing the owner of the Sandslash.

At first the man seemed to not recognize Ash, but only after seeing his Pikachu did it finally click for him.

"Well I'll be, I remember you. You were the guy that was around when I first decided ta leave home, if I remember right, you were my ninety-ninth win. What was your name again?…something burnt…Soot?"

"It's Ash, and it's nice to see you too AJ." Ash replied.

"Oh, sorry bout that" He apologized.

"It's fine" Ash reassured but still somewhat annoyed underneath his composed exterior.

At a closer glance, AJ had changed over the years, now sporting a lot of facial hair, chiseled arm muscles, and grown a lot taller. He was still shorter than James and Brock, but taller than Ash and Misty. He hadn't grown his hair out, keeping it at the same length from when they met him. There was a fierce smile on his lips, a glint in his eyes; he had the look of a weathered Pokemon trainer, similar to Ash's.

"Hi, I'm Dawn" Dawn introduced herself, stretching her hand to shake his. AJ nodded, receiving the hand with his own. Misty and Brock smiled, "We've met before."

Tracy reached out to shake AJ's hand as well; Samurai did the same out of courtesy. James, Jessie, and Meowth slid into the background; they had wronged this person before. No one seemed to notice that they hadn't introduced themselves and continued on.

"Anyways, now that introductions are out of the way come with me to what's left of my home, we can talk there."

Everyone followed AJ through the town, returning the Pokemon they had summoned and set their pokeglovs to manual. Their heads began to swivel back and forth after returning their Pokemon.

The entire town was in ruins, houses abandoned, patches of the homes were missing. Ash, Misty, and Brock recognized that they were reaching AJ's house when they saw the giant electronic scoreboard that he had used to count his victories until he left.

A chunk of the scoreboard was missing, the glass was cracked, and the scoreboard itself was leaning at a certain angle and threatened to fall over. Parts of the screen were dead; others had a random jumble of numbers and letters. The battlefield was left alone from the looks of it.

To Dawn, Samurai, and Tracy, the fissure in the center of the battlefield worried them, but to the others, they had no reason to worry since they had been there when the fissure had been made against the battle against Team Rocket by Sandshrew.

As they ventured further into the town they noticed the ground was filled with holes, trenches, ravines, and the entire town for that matter was abnormally sloped.

"Not that I want you to, but we're just curious as to why you haven't attacked us yet" James commented to AJ, finally striking up the courage.

AJ stared back at them, as if analyzing them from head to toe before finally replying, "oh right, you were the guys that I defeated and got my hundredth win. Well, if Sandslash hasn't attacked you, I don't think that there's any reason for me to tell him to. Besides, the way the world is going to hell, the last thing I need is to kill humans."

Jessie, James, and Meowth stared at Sandslash who had his back to them, of all the people or Pokemon to dislike them; Sandslash and his trainer should have to be one of them.

"Welcome to ma humble abode" AJ announced, his voice laced with sarcasm.

Home wasn't exactly the word that came to mind when they saw the structure before them. AJ seemed to pretend that everything was normal, walking up the steps to the door to where his house should've been.

Thing was, the door was one of the only things left standing, the first half of the house had completely toppled. Ash and the others weren't sure whether to actually go through the door or just walk around it.

There was a mountain of rubble that you had to cross to get into AJ's living room. Ash decided to walk over the mound like AJ did while the others decided to walk around it. One the other side they found AJ slumped into a badly torn couch, threatening to collapse down the middle.

"I always wanted a skylight in the living room" AJ joked as he crossed his legs and positioned his hands to cushion the back of his head as he laid down.

Ash couldn't find any suitable place to sit down, deciding the floor would be best.

"So how long have you been here?" Ash asked

"Few days" He answered casually and stretched.

"What happened here?" Misty asked, she didn't think that the Zubat would've traveled this far.

"Honestly, I have no idea. This place was like this when I came here, actually, that's not exactly true. It was a lot better before I got here; there were some Ratattas, Radicates, Beedrills, an other local Pokemon. When I found out that my parents were dead and that they were the cause of all this, I kinda snapped. Sandslash took out an entire Beedrill hive near here; it wasn't too hard for him to do. The next few days were pretty much him going around and killing every Pokemon he saw. Sometimes, the Pokemon would attack the town so to kill me. I'm talkin legions of Radicates and Rattata. So I told Sandslash that he didn't have to hold back, the town was already destroyed. I'm just guessing that the initial damage was from the Pokemon going crazy."

There was a moment of silence until Brock broke it, "do you guys want to tell him or should I?" No one made any notion to explain what the reasons of why the Pokemon were so brutally real now.

* * *

Brock seemed to be getting better at explaining the situation, it was taking less time to explain what was happening, that or AJ was smart enough to understand what they were saying.

"I guess that makes sense," AJ concluded.

"Why've you stayed here?" Jessie asked

"I was waiting for you. Well, not specifically you but for someone to pass through here. I was willing to wait here for a few weeks before I left. I took the entire town's rations and I've got enough food to last me about a month. So now that we're on the topic, where are you guys heading out to?" AJ asked.

Everyone stared at Tracy; he cleared his throat before speaking.

"We're trying to find a safe haven from the Pokemon, maybe a fortress or stronghold. In fact, do any of you here know of a place that's safe from Pokemon and big enough to be a fortress?"

Ash had been to many places; he knew places that were like fortresses but had Pokemon, and he knew places without Pokemon, but they were no strongholds. He thought about Brandon's flying pyramid, but he had no idea of where to find it or where to start looking.

It was then that AJ began to laugh, it wasn't a giggle or a chuckle; it was a roaring laughter that made him have to hold himself from falling off the couch. Everyone stared in bewilderment, as far as that had heard, there had been no joke being said.

"This is your big-ha ha-hahaha-plan? That's rich! Okay, seriously now, what's the plan? Why are you guys looking at me like I'm crazy? NO! You can't be serious! This is your grand plan? Ha ha ha-" AJ almost broke out into hysteria.

Dawn glared angrily at him, Tracy frowned, and Ash shifted uncomfortably where he sat.

"What might I ask makes our goal so funny?" Tracy asked sternly.

AJ took a deep breath to calm himself down before he talked once more.

"When this all happened, like you, I decided ta check up on my home town. On my way there, I passed through towns an cities. They were no better than here. There's no fortress Pokemon can't reach. The Beedrill hive that Sandslash took out a while ago was bigger than this town. All he needed ta do was weaken the support structures around it, create a large enough fissure, use earthquake to weaken it, and when the hive fell into the cracks, then all he needed to do was close the fissure and crush everything inside. What's to stop an earth Pokemon from destroying any fortress from beneath? Sure, you could find a base of operations on top of a section of bedrock, but ta be honest, that would only slow a Pokemon down for a few weeks, and that's only if it's just one Pokemon, not including the thousands of wild Pokemon out there. By air, by water, by underground, and by land. An Abra can teleport inside a building if it needed to. That's what makes me laugh. I thought that you would've brought something better to the table. I guessing that you're the only people left from the towns behind mine, so there's no point in staying here, but I don't see the point in going with you guys, just to get cornered in a "fortress" and get killed off."

It was then that the cold realization had hit him. Tracy began to feel how futile his plan had been from the start. Should they even try to hold off an area, the word would get around to the other Pokemon. They could hold Pokemon off bay, but not every single day, and each new day could be worse. Other than the surviving humans out there and their personal Pokemon, they were alone.

"We have to try" Tracy replied weakly, "If we don't try, all that we've done will be for naught."

"Listen to yourself, you don't even believe what you're saying. And what do ya mean "all for naught." You've tried living just for the sake of this? How about living cause ya don't wanna die!"

"Well why don't you come up with a plan then?" Misty yelled angrily at AJ.

"Pfft, I could come up with a better plan than that, just gimme some time." AJ replied coolly.

Tracy had gone pale, Jessie, Meowth, and James seemed distraught, Brock looked disappointed. Misty and Dawn were fuming at AJ, Samurai and Ash seemed unmoved by AJ's logic.

"I need…I need time to think" Tracy relented and began walking away.

"Don't let the door hit your ass one the way out," AJ yelled, snickering at the sight of Tracy's pallid face.

"_I swear, he looks like he's gonna cry, I think I might've crushed his spirit…oh well."_

There was a long moment of silence until AJ spoke once more, "If ya want something ta drink, I think there's some stuff in ma fridge, just leave some stuff for me, I wanna ration as much as I can. That's only if ya don't have your own rations, check the cabinets for cups, otherwise, check the other houses."

AJ decided it would be best to leave out the fact that he had drunken everything right out of the carton. It wasn't like he had any germs, so they would be fine.

* * *

The next few hours were passed in silence, Tracy was outside pacing back and forth; thinking.

The silence began to agitate AJ; he leaped off his bed and started asking them questions. Misty and Dawn refused to have anything to do with him, Brock, Jessie, James, and Meowth decided to fill AJ on what they had been through. AJ dispensed his own stories in return, talking about the burning cities he'd passed, narrow escapes from death, all with rapid movements of his arms to emphasize.

Before they knew it, night had come. Tracy came back inside, looking worn out, not physically but mentally. Samurai had spent the past few hours doing sword stances, Misty, Dawn, and Jessie conversing amongst each other, needless to say, they were having some much deserved girl time, considering that their journeys were spent mostly around men.

Everyone prepared their sleeping bags; the girls had decided to sleep as far away from AJ as possible. James and Meowth slept next to each other at the end of the room. Brock slept across the room from them. Samurai decided to lean against the wall, holding his blade at the ready.

Tracy slept in the middle, AJ decided to sleep on the couch and Ash had decided to sleep at the foot of the couch.

Sandslash had taken a nap the previous hours; tonight, like every night that he and AJ had been here, he had night watch duty. Some days he found and opponent, some days he didn't. He could sense vibrations in the dirt, through his spikes, claws, and whiskers. Tonight was different though; he did not patrol alone. Ash and Brock threw Noctowl and Crobat into the mix.

* * *

Hours passed, and one by one everyone dozed off. Brock pulled out his personal diary inside the inner flap of his vest. His pen was at the ready, but he wrote nothing that night. There was so much to write about, he might end up filling his book entirely with one single night escapade. His last entry had been the moment before all insanity started.

It made him think, was this a diary to himself, or was it something that he would leave for someone else to read should he die. He couldn't help but picture a person finding and reading his diary over his skeleton.

Brock shook the thought away; deciding to read instead of writing this night. He looked back on all the previous pages. The words he read pulled at his heartstrings; they were the recipes, the plans for the next days, the fantasies and dreams that he had.

It took him back to the days when he didn't have to look over his shoulder every few seconds just to make sure that something wasn't going to pounce and kill him. When he planned what meal he was going to make Ash and the others, jotting down recipes he wanted to remember for the Pokemon or the group.

Dreams and fantasies about the girls that he saw on their journeys.

When was the last time he had a dreamed? These days all he had seen in his sleep were the instantaneous black voids, neither dreams nor nightmares, just sleep. Every time he slept he couldn't help but wonder whether these were his last seconds of life.

Then again, what was there to dream about?

He could still see her, her eyes gazing back at him, even when they were no longer there and he stared at the holes in her skull. Given enough time, he could've painted it if he had wanted to, which he didn't. The death of the first Nurse Joy, he had seen. She had been so happy, she had loved electric Pokemon, it was ironic that they were the ones who'd killed her. Such a drastic change in such a short amount of time.

His imagination could only picture what the Ariados had done to Officer Jenny back in Dawn's hometown. He could still hear the bloodcurdling screams of Officer Jenny as the Zubats turned her into a bloody frappe.

Brock had to close the diary so that his tears wouldn't smudge and smear the ink on his pages. Reading about his happier, carefree days tortured him, but at the same time kept him sane.

* * *

There were thousands of face, every individual screaming for help, the jaws of death closing in around them. So death was met with death. Had he made the right decision? No one had judged him. In fact, no one had spoken a word of it, like it had vanished out of their memories, but not out of his heart.

Would they have hated him? Would they have understood? Would they have been please? Knowing that there had been no other way but that their killers would be taken out with them.

Every couple of nights, he could see, and hear them, each individual voice and face, each unique, with families and dreams. Did he have any right to kill them? Would he have been guilty anyway had he watched them die before him and done nothing? Was it his right? Could anyone else have done it for him, why was the responsibility of executioner placed on him?

Ash's eyes opened up suddenly, he had broken into a cold sweat, staring out at the night sky above him through the hole in the ceiling. He had dreamt of the aftermath of the cruise ship, the hundreds of people that died by Pikachu's hand on his order.

This wasn't the first time his dreams had been haunted by these thoughts, and no matter how many times he heard it in his head, he felt no closer to the answer he wanted.

The stars above him were calming, reminding him of the night before all this madness had started. A new thought provoked him, not only was he worried about Gary's safety, he now worried about Ritchie's safety.

Ash tried to not think anymore of other people and on whether they were alive or not. It's not that he didn't care, but he would be overwhelmed with worry should he continue.

"Bad dream?" AJ whispered.

Ash flinched; a blush grew on his cheeks, wondering what sort of noises he had made in his sleep.

"Why d'ya ask?" Ash asked sheepishly, knowing AJ's answer.

"You rolled in your bed a lot, mumbling something" AJ replied. To be honest, Ash had done more than that, but AJ felt that the less embarrassment, the better. In return, he hoped that Ash would do the same should they have heard his ruckus about the nightmares or fire and death that he witnessed in the last couple of days.

* * *

The next morning surprised everyone; it started out when AJ was packing all of his rations and personal belongings.

"What changed your mind?" Tracy asked.

"I slept on it, and I think your plan might work, but it'll totally fail if I don't go with you" AJ replied smugly.

"Dawn stuck her tongue at him and continued packing. Brock and Ash returned their Pokemon. AJ had, like Ash, decided to not return Sandslash and keep it out of his pokeball.

All of AJ's Pokemon had been killed in the first day of the dampener removal. AJ didn't tell them that they died because they accidentally got caught in Sandslash's way.

* * *

They set off early in the morning; they had only been walking for an hour when they were met with a dense fog. Everyone summoned their Pokemon just in case they were attacked. For the next couple of minutes, nothing happened, letting them lower their guard slightly. As they trekked further into the grayness, a giant shadow loomed over them.

Ash squinted, barely making out the large words that were embroidered on the wall. The fog cleared enough for him to see the words,

**Pokemon Tech**

AJ also recognized the school; he had also passed through the area before Ash and the others when he first started his journey.

"It's a school" Dawn said out loud.

"D'ya tink anything's still inside?" Meowth asked.

"Only one way to find out" Brock replied, pointing his finger in the direction of the school. The fog dimmed the flash of light that outlined Crobat, "Crobat, use your sonar to find out if there's anything living inside the building" Brock ordered.

Crobat fluttered away; the sound of his screech could be heard in the distance and the echoing halls of solitude within the school. Within a minute Crobat came back with a single response that Meowth translated.

No

Seeing as it was safe, Jessie, James, Meowth, Brock, Misty, and Tracy entered the building. The rest guarded the entrance, Dawn and Ash scanning the area for anything important.

The fog was so thick that Ash almost crashed into something directly in front of him. Pikachu cleared most of the fog with the swing of its tail, bringing to view a treadmill. The very same treadmill that Ash had seen four years ago, the very same one that Joe had been running on and being tested on the evolutions of Pidgey.

Ash couldn't help but force a laugh at how easy that knowledge came to him now. It would do him no good to think of Joe or Giselle who he had fought with Pikachu against her Cubone.

Dawn's scream penetrated Ash's thoughts, Samurai began running in her direction, AJ and Ash did the same only a second after. Dawn's figure appeared through the mist, she was slowly backing away from something.

Samurai shifted in front of Dawn, his sword drawn, Pikachu to her right and Sandslash to her left, Ash and AJ bringing up the rear.

"Dawn, what is it?" Ash asked, Pikachu's sparks flying as it licked it's lips in anticipation, Sandslash baring his claws.

"It was a…a dead body" Dawn replied

Pikachu's sparks died out instantly; Samurai's sword was instantly sheathed, Ash and AJ seemed disappointed.

"For the love of…" AJ fumed, stomping back to where Misty stood with Sandslash at his side.

"You've gotta be kidding me Dawn. A dead body, you should be used to things like that by now" Ash sighed.

"Well sorry for not being Mr. Brave, it was creepy and I screamed, sue me!" Dawn snapped.

Samurai walked away, somewhat content that there wasn't going to be a fight, Pikachu bounding back onto Ash's shoulder.

Misty gave a sigh of relief, waiting for her heart to calm down.

"Is everything alright?" Tracy asked, almost out of breath.

"Yeah, Dawn just got freaked out by a dead body and screamed" Ash explained, his voice laced with annoyance.

"So-rry" Dawn muttered.

"Give her a break, seeing something like that would've made me scream too" Misty defended.

"It's not like it jumped out at her" Ash retorted, walking towards the direction of the dead body in question. The shadow of a tree was the first thing that Ash saw, at the foot of the tree was some abnormal growth that Ash perceived was the body.

He couldn't help but flinch when he saw it; Dawn was the first to comment on his reaction.

"See, I told you it was creepy"

The fact that the person was dead, wasn't what made him flinch, it was the fact that he knew the dead person. Not personally, but his memory served well enough to remember what he had looked like.

He hadn't died from being killed by Pokemon; there wasn't a scratch on him. The skin on his body had been stretched back, the bones on his body clearly showing. His glasses were drooped over his face, the only thing suspending them were his ears.

His body was propped up against the tree; his bony hands were holding a book. The boy that had never been able to enter Pokemon Tech because of his scores, the boy who couldn't go back home because of the shame he would bring. So there he sat, studying until he could make his scores better, and there he died, still studying, without a single foot inside the very school he died for.

Worse of all, from the looks of it, he had died before the dampener removal crisis had even started.

The others soon came to look at what Ash was staring at; the only ones that gave a response from the scene were Jessie, James, Meowth, Brock, and Misty.

One of Ash's fingers pointed to his side, summoning Mr. Mime.

"Mr. Mime, lift this body with psychic, and bring it into the school with me" Ash ordered solemnly. There was no second of hesitation; Mr. Mime did as he was told. The book fell from the boy's hands along with his glasses. "AJ, could you do me a small favor?" Ash asked.

"Uh…sure" He replied, following Ash into the school. The others chose not to look at the body dangling above the ground. Once they were inside, Ash pointed to a certain area in the center of the hall.

"AJ, could you make Sandslash dig a small hole over there?"

AJ nodded and looked over to Sandslash, "You heard him."

Sandslash curled into a ball, rolling over to the sight, and rolling in place. A small hole was dug as Sandslash sunk into the ground. Mr. Mime knew all to well what his master wanted, laying the body in the hole once Sandslash moved away. The remaining dirt was moved psychically over the hole.

Ash gave a sigh of sad satisfaction, now the man's soul could probably rest in peace. He had finally gotten to enter the school.

Ash returned Mr. Mime, walking away from the school and to the rest of the group, AJ close behind him and brooding over how pointless the gesture was.

Ash gave a deep sigh before talking again; Dawn stared at him, wanting to know if that had been a close friend of Ash but held her tongue, seeing as it wasn't a good time to talk about it.

"Find anything of interest?" Ash asked.

"Nothing really, the place has been wiped clean, looked like a major battle inside though. You can't really see with all this fog, but there are some pretty big holes through this entire building." Tracy explained.

"Dere was one interestin ting. Dere was a Marowak Skull." Meowth informed.

Ash winced again and began to walk away, his back to the others.

"Let's move on, if there's nothing we need from here there's no point in staying."

The others nodded and followed, eventually leaving the mist and into a forest.


	22. Payback

**September 3**

* * *

It was sunset when a sudden flash made everyone jump; the light originated from Ash's pokeglov. What appeared from it was Ash's Ivysaur, sniffing the air and looking back and forth.

He caught the scent of something, bounding for it at full speed without warning. The others quickly ran after him, calling for him while being utterly perplexed at his sudden flight. It was only a few minutes before he stopped, the others catching up to him and trying to catch their breath.

Before them was a vast grassy clearing, a small pond to the side, trees surrounding it all. In the center was an obliterated log cabin; the scattered wooden remains were everywhere. At the center of the destruction lied one horribly mangled body, twisted in ways that bodies were never meant to bend in.

The very sight made them all disgusted, it was the combined revulsion of the girl's body being so distorted, but that this had been the girl, Melanie, which had originally owned Bulbasaur and allowed Ash to capture him. The other Pokemon that had been with her were nowhere to be seen.

"Ivysaur, I'm…sorry. We should go" Ash consoled, walking away, the others following suit. Ash turned his head; Ivysaur remained rooted to the ground.

It occurred to him that he could just easily return Ivysaur with the flick of his finger, but it wouldn't be right. This had been Ivysaur's home for many years; Ash felt that Ivysaur had the same rights that he did when his home was destroyed.

"Do guys mind if we camp here for the night?" Ash suggested.

The others didn't seem to mind, AJ attempted to protest, not knowing the reason for their stop, Dawn was uncomfortable with the body being so close to her.

The next morning, the body was gone and Ivysaur had returned himself back into Ash's pokeglov. Whatever had happened that sleepless night for Ivysaur, Ash hoped that it had brought him peace.

* * *

It had been a day since they had left the woods since then, stopping by at several places for survivors and supplies that they could find. Along the way, Ash, Misty and Brock all recalled being at the places that they stopped at, something had happened to them at each place.

They had passed by the Pokemon center where they had taken Ash's Charmander to heal when they found it weakened on the road. Once again, the group split into two, one group guarded the entrance, while the other searched the interior for supplies. Usually it was the same groups with little variation.

The Pokemon center was no different from the other Pokemon centers they had been to. There was no power, most of the supplies were already gone, and the occasional scene of death was here and there.

Ash became frustrated at the news, hoping that there would've been more survivors, hoping that the machines inside would've worked. Without power from the area of the caller and the receiver, they were cut off from the rest of the world. Only portable energy sources like their pokeglovs and walkie-talkies would work.

Tracy was content with the amount of supplies they had found. With Chansey as their medic, medical supplies were no longer necessary in surplus amounts, Though still necessary just in case.

Food wouldn't be a problem as they could just easily go out and find a wild Pokemon to kill. The thought wasn't bizarre; everyone ate Pokemon daily like Miltank burgers, Krabby legs, and fried Goldeen just to name a few. Although seeing as those Pokemon weren't abundant, many had to deal with roasted Rattata, Dawn finding it the hardest of all.

Tracy never took all the supplies that he had found, only what the group would need, and even then he tried to leave as much supplies off as possible, just in case other survivors came there as well and made better use of it.

Brock was saddened by the idea that a Nurse Joy may have died here as well, he wasn't sure as some of the bodies were so badly maimed that you couldn't tell a man from a women.

Jessie, Dawn, and Misty spent most of their time talking, Ash could see them smiling and laughing from the corner of his eye at times. The sight brought a smile to Ash's lips.

AJ and him stood guard this time, both of them smiling sinisterly at each other and chuckling. Although they made sure that no one heard or saw them, Misty would sneak a few glances at them. She still hadn't told anyone, something inside her wanted to tell someone, someone that would help her decide, give her their opinion. But with such a small group, the word would spread quickly. For now, Ash's secret was safe as long as she held her tongue.

Samurai had been subtly drifting further and further away from the group, always volunteering for scouting or hunting for food. He didn't talk much, standing silently in the background.

Brock continued to cook for them when they could get the supplies he needed. Brock's recipes usually consisted of stews, salads, and soups. Occasionally he would add meat into the mix. Dawn was learning as much as she could from Brock, Misty, and Jessie also decided to learn.

* * *

After another few days they reached a town, AJ recognized it while Ash and the others didn't. The entire town had been burnt to the ground; its ashen remains littered the floor.

After talking it over with AJ it was then that Ash recognized this place as the town where he first met his Squirtle and the Squirtle Squad. The grim irony came quickly to Ash when he realized that the town had met its demise by fire. This time no one bothered to look for supplies, assuming that it had been burnt with the rest of the town. No one was sure whether people had escaped the fire or not, AJ had said that when he was coming back, the town had been on ablaze.

They crossed into the woods once more, having the pokeglov made it so that they never got lost, something that had plagued them on all their previous early journeys. The entire time they met no resistance. Everyone had adopted the habit that Ash had done since the beginning of his journey and kept one of his or her Pokemon outside with them. Tracy had chosen his Scizor, AJ always had his Sandslash at his side, Pikachu riding on Ash's shoulder. James selected Mime Jr., Misty kept Chansey, Dawn had her Prinplup, Jessie with her Seviper, and Brock had his Crobat.

This combined group of Pokemon was enough to deter any wild Pokemon that noticed them. To pass the time everyone would strike up conversations, usually the whole group participated, sometimes no one, and other times the subject was ignored completely and replaced with another random subject.

Ash enjoyed this atmosphere, with only three people in his group whenever he traveled; things to talk about ran out quickly. With such a large group you could talk for half the day and still have more to talk about.

* * *

It was midday when they left the forest, the ground was replaced with sand, the crashing of the waves reached their ears, their noses meeting the salt of the sea at the same time.

The scene appeared almost tranquil, calming, and safe with only the sounds of the waves washing up on the shore. There were no sounds of Pokémon, only the sound of the ocean. Tracy scanned the sand for any prints, but there were none. If there actually had been, the water would've erased it.

Had there been a wild Pokemon even there, they would've seen it in the vast expanse of the beach. The scene before them seemed to calm everyone's soul, but they didn't let their guard down, they knew better than that.

"Ya hear dat?" Meowth asked.

"Pi-ka" Pikachu responded, its ears twitching as it angled itself towards the direction of the noise. Ash didn't hear anything, straining his hearing to pick up the sound that they heard.

"_Maybe it's a sound only Pokemon can here_?" Ash thought, until Samurai commented that he too heard the sound. Ash followed Samurai's eyes, seeing that in the distance there was a structure atop a cliff.

"I think it's the light house," Misty pointed out, the only word going through Ash's mind was "_Bill_."

Ash began to run towards the lighthouse, from what he saw, the lighthouse was intact. He was so focused on the lighthouse from afar that he didn't notice the shift in the sand.

The constant shifting of the water, bringing in the sea air had masked their presence from the Pokémon. A large red claw thrusted out of the ground, the large pincer closing in on Ash. Another claw appeared out of the ground, slicing off the big red one aimed at Ash's head, only a muscle twitch away from being crushed.

Sandslash had felt the ground vibrations, reacting quickly to save Ash. Fortunately, seeing as he was surrounded by sand being lightly blown by the wind, his Sand Veil ability made everything about him faster, including his reaction time.

It seemed as though the mile of beach before Ash was quivering with movement. Dozens of Kingler burst out of the ground, glaring angrily at the sight of their declawed comrade.

Streams of water skyrocketed out of the ground, Sandslash able to dodge them nimbly. Sandslash was now unaffected by water due to AJ's intense training, but with water pressure powerful enough to sever a Steelix, he wouldn't press his luck.

The ground belched sand as Kinglers still underground used bubble beam, the explosion knocking Sandslash out of the ground. Sandslash landed without so much as a scratch, poised to strike the upcoming legion of crab Pokémon.

Everyone began to quickly summon as many Pokemon as they could that would suit the scenario. Ash summoned Sceptile, Turtwig, Ivysaur, Meganium, Mr. Mime and his own Kingler, Misty summoning Gyarados into the sea, Dawn summoning Pachirisu and Swinub.

A ring of sand quivered around Sandslash, half a dozen Kinglers surrounding him.

Claw met claw as Scizor fought one on one with a Kingler. He dodged to the right as the Kingler slammed its dominant claw onto the ground. A ten thousand horsepower claw was useless if it couldn't be aimed correctly. The ground erupted a plume of sand; Scizor flinched from the shock of the blow, wondering what would've happened had he been hit, even with his metal exoskeleton.

Kingler's second smaller claw struck, Scizor managing to barely deflect the claw and striking back. A quick Bullet Punch to the face did nothing at all to stop the Kingler. Scizor reacted quickly, clamping his claws onto the base of the Kingler's arms and crushing them. A large thud came as both of the Kingler's arms were torn off.

A stream of bubbles shot from Kingler's mouth missing by a few inches as Scizor used Agility and hopped over the attack. Scizor quickly turned, using X Scissor on Kingler's back, but once again, there was not a single scratch on the hard scarlet shell.

Tracy had been watching his Scizor very closely, seeing now the Kingler's weakness.

"Everyone, tell your Pokemon to cut off their arms" Tracy yelled.

Sceptile sprinted through crowds of Kingler; his arm leafs glowing as his Leaf Blade disarmed dozens of Kinglers with a single bound.

Turtwig fired a few Razor Leafs, striking uselessly against the Kingler's face. The Kingler returned the favor with a blast of Bubble beam; leaves and bubbles collided with an explosion. Turtwig jumped through the smoke with his mouth open and clamping it onto the unsuspecting Kinglers dominant claw arm joint.

The Kingler's smaller claw wasn't long enough to pry Turtwig's body off it. Turtwig bit down harder and harder until something gave, a loud thud came with the falling of the Kingler's dominant claw.

The minor victory was short-lived as the shadow of the Kingler's legs appeared from above Turtwig. Samurai came swiftly, cutting off the legs and knocking the Kingler off its balance. It's remaining legs kicked furiously in the air, but ceased as Samurai stabbing into the soft spot of its body directly beneath its head.

Prinplup weaved back and forth through the throng of Kinglers, its wings practically blades as it disarmed more Kingler. At its side was Sceptile, giving a curt nod of approval. The two of them ran at a constant pace, any Kingler that came across them lost at least one appendage.

Pachirisu and Pikachu had an easy time dispatching the Kingler from afar. Pikachu became bored quickly, watching enviously as the others fought up close and personal against the Kingler.

Scizor hopped over his opponent once more, thrusting his claw forwards once more, a green barrier appeared instantly. His claw stopped an inch from the barrier, before charging forward once again. Scizor's Feint had broken through the Kingler's Protect, the end result was the Kingler's brain in Scizor's claw.

Gyarados fired Ice Beams at the Kingler, freezing them instantly onto the sand. Crobat flew above the battle, firing a gust of slicing wind at anything crimson.

Jessie's Seviper landed blow after blow against the hard hide of the Kingler, slowly poisoning it Poison Tail although the wounds weren't deep.

Jessie, Meowth, and Mime Jr. stayed behind a protective barrier along with the others.

Bulbasaur and Meganium had charged their petals fully, unleashing a double Solar Beam. The blast was cut short as one of the Kingler used Protect and stopped the beam in its tracks.

Samurai's and Sceptile's blades, Pikachu's bolts, and everyone's attacks started to become blocked by protect. Sceptile, Ivysaur, and Meganium got into position, Turtwig used Razor leaf as well and added the attack as the others watched in amazement at the wave of leaves unleashed on the Kingler.

All the Kingler used Protect, a large green barrier appeared before them. Some of the Kingler had used Protect before, this time they weren't so lucky as their barrier failed them. The unfortunate Kingler were buried in the waves of leaves, the attack lasting 10 seconds until it was done.

Billions of leaves littered the floor; only a few Kingler bodies were dead among them. A few Kingler survived, some with many cuts, others with no limbs at all. Gyarados and Ash's Kingler made the next move, a yellowish white orb appearing in Gyarados's maw and in Kingler's dominant claw.

Two beams flew at the wild Kinglers, trenches formed beneath them even though there was no contact. Once again the Kinglers used Protect, some of their Protects failed but the ones who succeeded moved in front of those who failed. The beams collided against the barriers. The blasts deflected off the barriers uselessly, there were only a few casualties as the beams hit some of the unprotected Kinglers that weren't defended.

The force of the collision nearly shook everyone to the ground, sand spraying against the barriers Mr. Mime and Mime Jr. had put up.

Gyarados made a large splash as it fell to the ground, exhausted from using all its strength in the last attack. Sceptile, Meganium, and Ivysaur were barely able to support themselves.

Pikachu darted forward, Samurai running at its side. For a moment, Pikachu was momentarily surprised at Samurai's speed and astuteness at what Pikachu was planning next.

Samurai had his blade angled in the same way when they were battling above the Cerulean Gym. Pikachu used Iron Tail, Samurai swung with the flat end of his sword and Launched Pikachu up.

There were no clouds in the sky, forcing Pikachu to use its own power reserves to fuel the Thunder attack. The bolt nearly blinded everyone as it struck against the overlapping barriers of Protect. Waves of sand crashed against the barriers, the force threatened to shatter the light screens and barriers.

If nothing else, this had proved that Pikachu was the strongest out of all of them, the explosion from its single attack was stronger than the Leaf Hurricane and the double Hyper Beam.

The dust cleared, revealing that half the Kingler had survived the blast, the sand beneath them glowing red. The heat had been so intense that the some patches of sand on the ground had fused together to form glass.

Samurai ran as fast as he could, sliding on the sand as he dove and caught Pikachu who fell from the sky. The sand cushioned the fall; Pikachu was taking shallow breaths, panting rapidly.

Samurai could easily tell that Pikachu had put more power into that attack than when Pikachu used it on the Zubat. Pikachu tried to stand, it had enough power for another attack but the result would mean it would pass out.

Two vines appeared from behind them, wrapping around Samurai's ankles and Pikachu's midsection, pulling them back over to Ash's side. Pikachu yelled in protest, Samurai slid silently, somewhat annoyed at being dragged in such a fashion.

"Thanks Ivysaur" Ash said, walking over to Pikachu who was attempting to walk back onto the battlefield. Ash grabbed Pikachu before it collapsed onto the ground, Pikachu wriggled against Ash's grip.

"Calm down Pikachu, you're tired from that last attack. Rest, we can take over from here, you've done enough" Ash consoled.

Tracy cursed under his breath at all of their attacks being so easily defeated by the single move the Kingler all used.

"Ash, you're gonna need to think of something quick" Misty pointed out.

All the surviving Kingler began to foam at the mouth, some of them were charging up for a Hyper Beam. With so many Bubble and Hyper beams aimed at them, there seemed to be no way for them to escape. Mr. Mime's barriers could only deflect so much.

Ash's Kingler lunged forward, walking sideways across the battlefront over to the Kingler's side. This sudden action surprised everyone, including the opposing Kingler, making them cease their attack.

Ash's Kingler stopped before the others, pointing its larger claw at the largest Kingler in the group.

"Cuukee, Cuukee" Ash's Kingler bubbled.

"You're Kingler jus issued a challenge ta da Boss Kingler" Meowth explained. The other Kingler moved out of the way, the largest Kingler stepped forward raising its claw in acceptance.

The other Kingler surrounded Ash's Kingler, Ash was going to protest when Meowth said, "Don't worry, dey won't attack your Kingler, der jus watchen."

The fact that it was fighting its own species did nothing to bother Ash's Kingler.

They circled each other, the surrounding Kingler watching as if they had forgotten of the battle they were in. Every Kingler gave ample space for the dual. In a sense, the Kingler had honor amongst their own kind, they would not intervene in this battle.

Each Kingler clicked its large claw menacingly; the Kingler that Ash's Kingler was fighting had a claw slightly larger than its own. Usually, a larger claw meant the alpha Kingler in the group. This did nothing to deter Ash's Kingler, being the first to strike.

Both Kinglers fired Bubble Beam; a constant explosion took place where their attacks met. Each of them aiming their attacks at different parts of the other's body but no serious damage was done. This continued on for a minute before they both realized that this would get them nowhere, both had equally large defenses. This match had to be settled by strength alone.

The opposing Kingler made the first move, swinging its claw downward in a Crab Hammer attack. Ash's Kingler raised his own larger claw, trying to block it. His own claw held, but barely. The weight of the larger claw making Ash's Kingler tremble under the strength.

Both of them fired Bubble Beams at point blank range, and at that distance, some damage began to occur between the two. The opposing Kingler forced its own claw lower, breaking the crown-like spikes atop Ash's Kingler's head.

Their mini claws banged against each other in a sort of mini duel apart from their large claws. The duet of claws was fast and fierce, the Kingler audience amazed at the three things happening at once. Such skill hadn't been seen in a Kingler duel for as long as they could remember.

With a burst of strength, Ash's Kingler forced the opposing Kingler's claw off its own. In that split second, Ash's Kingler twisted its claw, grabbing onto the other Kingler's claw and Lifting the entire body into the air. The alpha Kingler was stunned at how something that small was able to lift something as big and heavy as itself.

Ash's Kingler swung the alpha Kingler onto the ground, burying its body halfway through the sand. The sand hadn't even finished falling when Ash's Kingler swung the alpha Kingler again, beating it against the ground.

When the Alpha Kingler was stunned, Ash's Kingler took the opportunity and clamped his claw onto the Kingler's claw, tearing off its dominant claw. With a vicious swing, Ash's Kingler, wielding the other Kingler's dominant claw in his own Dominant claw, used a Crab Hammer that counting double and beat the alpha Kingler with it.

It was after a single stroke that the alpha Kingler raised it's minor claw in mercy. Ash's Kingler stopped attacking immediately and dropped the claw he was wielding.

From afar, Ash was worried that the Kingler being flung around was his own but was shocked to see his scurrying over to him sideways. Once it got there, Ash went over and embraced the large crustacean Pokemon. Ash's Kingler spoke, Meowth translating it instantly.

"He says he wants Chansey" Meowth conveyed. Ash looked towards Misty, who complied quickly. Ash assumed that Kingler had wanted to heal its wounds from the battle. He hadn't expected to see Chansey get picked up by Kingler and taken over to the other Kinglers.

Once there, Kingler had Chansey use Soft Boiled on the severed limb and the former alpha Kingler's stump, connecting them together.

The other Kingler were amazed and bowed before Ash's Kingler, along with the former alpha.

Meowth could only vaguely hear what Ash's Kingler was saying to the rest but was able to make out most of it.

"Ya Kingler is tellen all de udders ta leave so dat dey don't die. Its also tellen dem ta not eat people mo more."

"Why would they listen to him?" Ash asked.

"Since he beat their strongest Kingler, they will immediately become loyal to him. It's just how the Kingler hierarchy works." Tracy explained, having researched the characteristics of Kingler with Professor Oak, not to mention that Gary and Ash's Kinglers had a similar bout at the ranch few years ago, which is where they based most of their research.

The other Kingler began to retreat into the sea, Misty and the others began to return their Pokemon. Ash waited until his Kingler was back to their side along with the Chansey.

Kingler's expression was of pure bliss, having won that battle and being crowned King of the Kinglers.

"Must feel good being king" James commented as Kingler reached Ash and was congratulated by everyone, except for one person.

The swarm of Kingler hadn't even made it to the shore when the ground beneath them split open. As hard as they tried, the shifting sand made it impossible to escape falling into the dark and deep sandy abyss below. As soon as all of them had fallen in, the fissure closed rapidly, crushing all the Kingler inside.

Everyone's eyes landed on the source of the attack, AJ's Sandslash who had stabbed his claws into the ground.

"Awesome job Sandslash" AJ congratulated, patting it on the head.

There was a moment of utter disbelief as AJ laughed; the event of what had just happened began to sink into their minds.

Brock walked over to AJ, throwing his fist at AJ's face, only to be caught and blocked easily.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Those Kingler were leaving, we won!" Brock yelled furiously.

"What, the Kingler were all lined up, I saw a chance and took it. I'm gonna wipe out any Pokemon that tries to kill humans" AJ defended.

Misty went over and tried to slap AJ, but AJ was quicker and grabbed her wrist before it connected with his face. AJ squeezed tightly, making Misty yell as something popped inside her wrist. He let go, letting her fall to the ground and nursing her injured hand. Samurai unsheathed his sword only an inch, unsure of where this fight was going.

"Why?" Tracy asked coldly, "they could've killed us, but they showed us mercy, they weren't gonna hurt anyone anymore."

"And you believe that? You're more deluded than I thought. Wild Pokemon can't be trusted anymore. They would've gone back to killing people the second we left the area, were you willing to let more people die based on your pathetic honor system?" AJ spat.

Dawn looked at Ash, "Ash, say something" She pleaded, but Ash's face remained blank.

He hadn't expected AJ to do something so drastic; he wasn't sure what to say. It was then that he noticed that all eyes were on him now. Everyone was waiting for him to say something.

"Why are you guys all looking at me like that?" Ash asked, pretty sure of what they wanted.

"What do you think about this, Ash?" Brock asked.

"I… I don't know, why ask me?"

"We want to know what your opinion on this is"

"Yeah Ash" AJ added, his voice saturated with sarcasm.

Misty only stared at Ash, tears in her eyes.

Ash walked over to AJ, walking past him and Brock, Pikachu on his shoulder. After walking a few yards, Ash motioned for AJ to come, AJ and Sandslash complied and walked over to him.

"We need to talk" Ash said quietly.

"Why need to be so secretive? Lets just talk with them, let's hear what they think." AJ smirked.

"You know full well why, we need them," Ash explained.

"No we don't, almost all the damage the Kingler took were from you and me. We could take on this whole damn messed up world by ourselves; we don't need them." AJ countered.

"AJ, tell your Sandslash to use Sandstorm around us, make sure it doesn't hurt us" Ash ordered.

AJ simply snapped his fingers, Sandslash began to spin around, and kicking up the sand around them and making it encircle them in a vortex.

"_Good, now they can't see or hear us_" Ash thought.

"So what's this all about" AJ asked, clearly annoyed.

"I don't want you to do that again" Ash replied simply.

"Wow, and here I was thinking that you had balls. What, whenever something happens that your friends don't like, they tear yours off. It kinda makes me sick to see you get bossed around by those _people_."

"Those _people_ are my friends, and you said that you would play along with anything that would keep my friends on our good side."

"And what are we, Ash? Was I wrong in thinking that we're friends?"

"No…no, we're friends"

"Ash, you don't need those guys, I got along fine without anyone and I only had Sandslash."

"I don't need you to tell me what I need and don't need, AJ. Listen, I know you want to kill them, but let's do this my way for now.

"...Fine" AJ halfheartedly agreed.

"Oh and AJ, I'm gonna need you to stop the Sandstorm and play along with what I'm gonna do next.

AJ snapped his fingers; Sandslash began spinning in the opposite direction and the cyclone began to stop. Ash waited until the sand had completely settled and AJ had begun to walk away. He pulled his fist back and punched AJ in the face, sending him into the sand.

Sandslash leapt into action, curling into a ball and spinning at Ash, eager to shred him to pieces with his spines. Pikachu intervened, using Iron Tail to deflect Sandslash's Gryo Ball. Pikachu spun gracefully onto the ground, Sandslash crashed into the sand.

"That was payback for what you did to Misty" Ash replied.

Part of him was doing this to get on everyone's good side, but the other half was because of what AJ had done to Misty.

AJ massaged his cheek, seeing that this was what Ash had meant by playing along.

"_Stupid son of bitch, freaking nutless bastard goes and sucker punches me_," AJ thought, getting up. Ash looked over and saw that the others were watching; Brock and Misty's expressions were that of content.

Meowth was watching intently, Ash couldn't apologize to AJ without it being heard and revealed by Meowth.

* * *

Ash and AJ began walking over to the rest of the group, Pikachu and Sandslash walking next to each other.

"How'd you like that last move I used to kill the Kingler, I think we know who's stronger. I mean your move only took out half of them, and you were exhausted, I didn't even break a sweat using my move, not that they could've blocked my attack with their little Protect. You'd never be able to beat me, besides, I'm a ground type, your moves wouldn't even work on me" Sandslash boasted.

Pikachu was silent for a moment before responding.

"It might interest you to know that I've beaten ground, rock, and fighting Pokemon at the same time with my electricity. That was even before the dampeners, now that it's gone, I wouldn't have too much trouble killing you."

"We'll see about that," Sandslash concluded as Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder. It was only after a few steps that Sandslash's body froze up, his muscles unable to move anymore. A tiny static hum came to his ears when a tiny bolt traveled across his arms.

"_I'm…paralyzed? When did this happen_?" Sandslash thought, looking over to Pikachu.

Pikachu turned towards him from Ash's shoulder, giving a sinister smile. When the Iron Tail had connected with him, Pikachu had transferred some of its electricity into Sandslash's body with its ability called Static.

Within a few seconds Sandslash could move again, walking over to Chansey so to remove the paralysis. Throughout the entire moment, he and Pikachu stared at each other; and an unspoken bond of rivalry had formed.

* * *

It was then when AJ had just finished apologizing to the others that Kingler's claw reached over, attempting to use guillotine on him. Mr. Mime quickly stopped him with psychic, Sandslash stopping only millimeters from stabbing through Kingler. Kingler was outraged at the thought that the man before him had gotten away with killing all of the Kingler who had just crowned him.

Ash's other Pokemon agreed with Kingler and felt justice needed to be served.

"Kingler, stop. Killing them won't bring them back, what' s done is done; let it go. I'm sorry. Mr. Mime, put him down." Ash ordered. Mr. Mime complied. Ash's words stopped Kingler from attacking again, but didn't quench the anger that festered in Kingler's heart. Ash could see the loss of respect from all his Pokemon other than Pikachu as he returned them.

"Ash, you should keep a better leash on your Pokemon, I wouldn't want to have to kill them" AJ warned. Ash looked into AJ's eyes, and knew that AJ wasn't pretending about what he said.

Tracy and the others walked past them, Dawn seemed slightly disappointed as she passed him.

"_Can I never win_" Ash thought as he followed them as they walked towards the lighthouse.

* * *

It was only a few minutes for them to reach the door to the lighthouse, by then it had become dark. They had tried knocking, but there was no answer, and with no amount of yelling at the transceiver made Bill answer.

"Sandslash, open the door" AJ commanded nonchalantly.

In a second, the door was cleaved in two, toppling down to the ground.

"AJ!" Dawn protested.

"Great, I try ta help and everyone gets angry with me" AJ replied defensively.

"You didn't have to do it that way" Brock replied.

"Whatever, the door's open like you wanted, stop whining and find this Bill guy, it's getting dark and I'm getting bored."

Ash sighed while everyone glared at AJ, the angry stares didn't affect him one bit. Everyone entered cautiously; the hallways were dark, so dark that Ash actually crashed into one of the support columns at the sides of the hallway.

Everyone used the lights of their pokeglovs, searching out the hallways for any sign of life.

"Pikachu do you smell any Pokemon around?" Ash asked, Pikachu shaking its head.

"Nothing's coming up on the pokeglov," Tracy announced.

"That's not really helpful considering we just had an entire legion of Kingler attack us. Let me guess, I bet you built that piece of crap," AJ remarked.

"He has a point though, why didn't it activate?" James asked.

Tracy ignored their comments, but explained anyway.

"The pokeglov captures movement and heat and perceives them as Pokemon. Since the sun heated the sand, it masked the presence of the Kingler, and with all the wind moving all the sand, as well as the waves, it confused the pokeglov and what was a Pokemon and what wasn't."

"Hey guys, don't you find this strange" Misty commented.

"What?" Brock asked.

"Everything here is intact, there's nothing destroyed or damaged."

There was a pause as everyone scanned the hallway to see that she was right.

"That's odd, do you think that he's still in here, or maybe he left?" Jessie added.

"Well if he's gone, then we can loot his supplies for ourselves" James replied.

As devious as they had put it, Brock had to admit they had a point; they were getting low on food. Earlier he and the others had scavenged the dead Kingler bodies left over. Brock knew a recipe with Kingler meat that he knew the others would greatly enjoy. But there was only enough for all of them to eat in one sitting, not enough for even a second helping.

The further they walked, the more it damage began to appear. At first it was only a few cracks, then it snowballed from overturned desks, scattered papers, chandeliers, and chunks of the ceiling.

"This darkness is really starting to piss me off," AJ mumbled.

Ash nodded, "Chimchar" Ash said into the mike of his pokeglov.

With a flash of light Chimchar materialized, a bit disoriented by the darkness.

"Chimchar, set the area next to you on fire" Ash commanded. Chimchar did as it was told, setting a desk that was next to it on fire, as well as the drapes behind it. Ash made Chimchar repeat the process until the room was well enough lit.

When Ash returned Chimchar, what they all saw bothered all of them, even AJ. There was a large hole in the roof of the building. On the floor, directly beneath the hole in the roof was a large crater, caked in dried blood.

The figure inside the crater was crushed beyond recognition; everyone knew full well that this was the fate of poor Bill, the creator of the computer Pokemon holding system, and Pokemon researcher.

Ash sat down in frustration and once again, the death of someone he had once known was unaffecting him, he was numb to the sight of death, as was everyone.

"Guys, let's just get some supplies and go. Use Pikachu to light your way" Ash said sadly.

Everyone started to make their way to the kitchen; Pikachu used the sparks from its cheeks to light the way. Ash stayed behind, walking back to the entrance of the building, preferring not to see Bill, or at least what was left of Bill. Ash found the computer where he contacted Oak about how his Krabby was when he first caught it on the beach.

The more he thought about it, it was around sunset that he had captured Krabby, just like this afternoon when they were fighting for their lives. The computer was dead, like every piece of electrical equipment that they had found. On the desk was a single book, after a few minutes of silence in the darkness Ash decided to read the book with what light there was left from the fires, slowly eating away the drapes.

As Ash read he realized this was Bill's journal, or at least one of them seeing as it was set in volumes. Ash started from the journal entry of when he had met Bill four years ago. Bill had written nice things about him, making Ash happy and sad at the same time. There were also checks in the book used as bookmarks, Ash looked over them and saw that they were bills that he had to pay for reconstructing the beacon that had been destroyed that night he had met Bill.

Since the day that Ash and the others had left Bill's company, Bill dedicated himself to trying to bring the giant Pokemon back to him. He rebuilt the beacon and played it every sequence of two days for four years, starting at 7 in the afternoon and playing every thirty minutes for a minute. Ash had to admire bill for his tenacity over the course of several years.

Ash realized that it was the sound of the beacon that Pikachu had heard. He looked at his pokeglov and saw that in a few minutes, the sound would play again. Ash continued to read, seeing that Bill was overjoyed at the fact that the radar system he had bought had found that a large entity was heading his way.

It was then that he heard the sound.

Footfalls filled the empty corridors as the others regrouped around him.

The wail was nearly deafening, the walls of the lighthouse reverberating from the sheer force. The sound rekindled old memories of Ash's night with the Kabuto clad researcher. he was not alone in his reminiscence as Misty, Brock, and the Rocket Trio found the memory unlocked for them.

It was only after the recording had been played for a minute that the ground shuddered, but the sound droned on. This time the tone was different, but unmistakable.

It was angry.

Dexter exhausted every file in his databanks attempting to give intel on the creature, frantically beeping as he searched. Countless diagrams and comparisons filtered across the screen before finally relenting to a single match. The dimensions didn't match, but for the most part it fit the general shape of a Pokemon recognized by all the regions.

A hologram of a Dragonite appeared on the pokeglov, accompanied by the only stat it was able to compute upon first sight. The creature before them was 12 stories tall.

The Dragonite had come back, thinking that it's search for a Pokemon like itself was finally over, only to be disappointed and find the same person that had tricked and wounded it several years back.

In it's anger, it killed the person responsible and left. Two days had passed since then, and yet the mocking echo of its voice persisted.

The angry glowing eyes of the Dragonite loomed through the hole in the ceiling; the first thing it spotted was James, Jessie, and Meowth. Having made contact with very few Pokémon the Dragonite made sure to remember those that hadn't hidden or run away from its presence. Upon seeing the old Team Rocket members, it remembered the bazookas they had used to attack it.

Ash could literally feel the blood drain away from his face as the Dragonite begin to lift its fist into the air.

"RUN!" Tracy said, heading for the entrance.

Tracy jumped down the steps and continued running with out a single break in his stride. Ash ran like he never ran before, a new fear filled him, more than the Beedrill. Dawn was barely outside the door when the entire building exploded, the cliff itself broke off and sank into the ocean.

The only remains of the lighthouse were now raining on everyone as they fled into the forest. Samurai caught Dawn as she had been flung into the air by the force of the smash.

Misty was crying, Dawn was shivering in Samurai's arms; AJ's heart was beating like a Rapidash. Jessie, James, and Meowth were actually outrunning Samurai and Tracy who had been in the front. Tracy's mind was a blur, Brock almost pissed himself again, and Ash ran so fast that he threatened to fall over.

Everyone's Pokemon took out any large rubble that threatened to crush their masters. They too feared for their lives, but cared for their masters more. Pikachu could've easily outrun Ash and left him in the dust, but decided not to.

Ash risked it and looked behind him, only to have his heart almost skip a beat and see that the Dragonite had cleared the shore past the cliff and was following them into the forest.

A light orange ball appeared in its mouth, charging only a split second before firing the Hyper Beam. Samurai jumped out of the way, Scizor pushed Tracy to a side, with barely enough time to jump out of the way himself.

The beam incinerated anything before it, landing a mile away in the depths of the forest. A large bubble of fire illuminated the section of distant forest in an orange glow; the force of the beam was like the collision of an asteroid, sending every tree in a three-mile radius flying. Dirt and trees came in a landslide from every direction at once.

Samurai jumped at inhuman heights over the flood of destruction with Dawn in his arms. Mime Jr. created a flight of stairs out of barriers, bringing them over the landslide. Scizor flew with Tracy and Misty in his arms while Ash's Mr. Mime mimicked Mime Jr., leading Ash, Brock, and Pikachu to safety.

At the height they were at, James could clearly see the destruction left in the wake of the Hyper Beam. The crater was larger than all of Mt. Moon, and just as deep as Mt. Moon was tall.

Pikachu jumped in the air, placing all of its energy into a Thunder attack, directed at the Dragonite. The bolt hit the Dragonite in the eye, the attack had connected, but it hadn't even phased the Dragonite.

Tracy swore his teeth were loosening from his gums with every step the Dragonite took. It was like every step was an earthquake even though it wasn't using the actual move.

Ash caught Pikachu in his arms; Pikachu had passed out from using all of its energy. The Dragonite began to generate electricity, firing its own Thunder in response. Everyone made a quick turn, the bolt of lightning at their heels and striking off in the distance.

A forest fire that spanned miles lit the night ahead of them, creating a horizon of flame. The Dragonite aimed again, this time a blue orb appeared in its mouth before firing a cerulean lance.

Another entire section of the forest died, this time by ice from the Dragonite's Blizzard attack. By that time, Mr. Mime, and Mime Jr. ran out of barriers and light screens. With a crater to the north, fire to the east, and a frozen forest to the west, they were cornered by the Dragonite.

Scizor was too tired to keep flying; the combined weight of Dawn and the armor were beginning to take their tool on Samurai, forcing him to stop. In the end, they all gathered together, preparing themselves for their final stand against the giant Dragonite now preparing another Hyper Beam, and from where they stood, it wouldn't miss.

* * *

AJ had followed Sandslash though the tunnels it made underground, Sandslash stopped, sensing the vibrations of Ash and the others. The tunnel shuddered, threatening to collapse above them with every step of the Dragonite. Some of the tunnels behind them had fallen, every second they stayed still was an invite for them to be buried alive.

"Okay Sandslash, use Fissure on that thing and kill it" AJ ordered, his knees knocking against each other and his voice quivering and cracking. Sandslash didn't move, which wasn't exactly true. Every part of Sandslash's body was trembling out of fear. This was the first time AJ had seen his Pokemon do that in his entire life.

AJ knew how hopeless the command he gave was; Fissure would only bring the Dragonite down a level, probably down to its knees. Which is when AJ realized that there was something that he could do.

"Sandslash, remember when the Kingler were gonna attack us all at once? Remember what you were gonna do before Ash's Kingler decided to fight?" AJ asked.

Sandslash nodded shakily, then it clicked inside his head and he began to dig once more with gusto. He stopped after a few yards, AJ was so tired from running that he was feeling nauseous, his head felt fuzzy and everything was going white. His breaths were extremely shallow; he felt that he was going to pass out soon.

"Are they above us?" He asked in a gasp.

Sandslash nodded.

"Then you know what to do" AJ said as he passed out.

Sandslash knew that they would live. There was no way to beat that Dragonite, but they wouldn't have to, they just needed to live, and get away. Sandslash poured all of his strength into his final Fissure, one that would go for miles.

* * *

Seconds before Dragonite fired its Hyper Beam, the ground split beneath Ash's and everyone else's feet. They fell instantly, falling miles beneath the earth's surface before the attack connected, sealing the fissure with rubble.


	23. Recharge

**September 8**

* * *

It was early in the morning; the gentle wind caressed the emerald leaves on the trees. The warm sun was shining brightly, the climate wasn't too hot, but the cool breeze evened it out, making it just right.

Looking around, no one would imagine that something could kill you instantly. That lurking in every large field of grass, something could leap up and take out a chunk of your throat.

It was in the dead center of a dirt road, the ground was soft from the years of walking on it. There, two claws poked through the dirt gently before rapidly retreating into the darkness below.

After a few seconds of silence, a large ball of spikes burst through the dirt, uncurling after rolling a few feet from the hole. Right behind the hole appeared a fingerless gloved hand. The hand gripped the ground, five long lines were made in the dirt as the hand slid across the road, crushing the dirt in the palm of the hand into a finer powder.

With an effort, the hand pulled itself out of the ground, revealing an arm, then a second one and a red cap. Ash was only a quarter of the way out of the hole when Pikachu hopped out and prepared itself for a battle. Menacing sparks flew from its crimson cheeks in hopes that any opponent around would be intimidated and not realize that Pikachu was momentarily blind.

After spending an entire day and a half under ground, it could happen to anyone. Ash's eyes pained him, no matter how tightly he shut his eyes; light still squeezed through and burned him.

Despite the pain, he still laughed and smiled, rolling around in the dirt, waving his hands through the air and taking deep, long breaths. Eventually, everyone else began to pop out of the hole, some of them doing the same as Ash.

It took everyone a full ten minutes to get adjusted to the light before they could continue, except for Samurai who didn't seem affected by the change in lighting at all. The entire time everyone relished the feeling of being above ground for what felt like ages. Although their pokeglovs said that they had only been there for around thirty-six hours, they still felt like it had been an eternity underground.

"It's only when you no longer have the things you once had that you start to appreciate them" James sighed.

"I hear that" AJ laughed.

Dawn was still silent, she could still hear the roars that shook them despite the miles of distance they were underground. Being in the darkness had the most effect on her, more than all the things they had been through.

"I hope we never ever meet that thing ever again," Brock said.

"I never thought I'd ever see that thing again, let alone have it almost kill us," Jessie said.

"_What does it take to kill that thing, Pikachu's Thunder didn't even make it blink_" Ash pondered.

"Where are we?" Misty asked.

Tracy looked at the pokeglov and pointed down the road, "we're only a quarter of a mile from Vermillion."

"Sounds good, we can restock there and find a place to rest" Ash said, walking past Tracy. Brock nodded in approval and summoned his Crobat, the others then summoning their own partner Pokemon.

"Ash wait" Tracy called out, but Ash continued to walk without looking back.

"Don't worry Tracy, I know the way, you guys just have to catch up. It's not like you're the only one with a pokeglov. You can walk and summon at the same time, can't you?"

Something inside Tracy churned uncomfortably inside him, but he couldn't quite understand why. Tracy began to walk as well, summoning Scizor as he did. After a few seconds, he realized that he had broken into a jog. He stopped himself, but couldn't help but want to walk faster and faster until…

Ash was still in front of him; Tracy couldn't pinpoint what was bothering him until he realized that he was now speed walking next to Ash. That's when it hit him; the fact that Ash was walking ahead of him, was leading the rest of the group…that was what was bothering him.

During the past couple weeks that they had been together, Tracy had always been in the front, leading them with the map on his pokeglov. It had given him a sense of leadership, but was it really leadership? Everyone else had a map on their own pokeglovs, he was no more special than they were.

He guessed it was the feeling, the feeling of obedience from everyone. When he gave an order, they followed it; whenever he made a plan, they listened intently. He knew the most about the pokeglov, he was slightly older, and up until now, no one had challenged his leadership.

"_Wait? Did I just think that? What am I thinking? No one is challenging me; I don't think that's what Ash is trying to do. He's always been like this; it shouldn't be a problem_" Tracy thought.

James looked around, seeing that everyone was a little pale, which was understandable. The lack of sun, the fear of having the tunnels collapse, and the fact that their food rations had ended the other day.

It didn't take them long to reach Vermillion City, as usual they were welcomed by a ghost town. They all decided to split up into pairs seeing that it would be easier to cover more ground. Ash went with Dawn, Misty with Brock, Tracy with Samurai, Jessie with James, and Meowth with AJ.

Brock and Misty checked the docks, seeing that it was bare of any cruise ships, or any boats for that matter. Their memories placed the mirage of the S.S. Anne before them as they left.

Jessie and James did what they did best, and looted houses for rations and supplies. What they found was minimal, it seemed as if the supplies left behind by the inhabitants had already been taken once again, leaving them with the scraps of scraps. All in all, they were able to accrue enough to make a decent improvement on their supply situation.

Tracy and Samurai visited the Pokemon center, Samurai stood at guard while Tracy searched for anything of value. There were times when Tracy saw a group of computers, wondering whether he should bother checking them at all, seeing as how every one they had come across was broken beyond repair, or powerless. He sighed as he tried each one, realizing that it was a waste of time, but if he didn't try, and overlooked something, he knew he would regret it later.

Meowth and AJ wandered the streets, looking for Pokemon or survivors. Sandslash felt no vibrations in the ground; meaning nothing other than them was under moving, whether it was by land or under the ground.

Ash and Dawn were also checking the houses, but Ash wanted to make a stop at a certain place. Ash stopped before the building, looking at all the damage that was done. It seemed as though every wall had been burnt, holes had been punctured through the walls. The windows had been shattered, leaving the once proud lightning gym building in broken shambles.

"Ash, why're we here?" Dawn asked, clinging somewhat to him. The hairs on the back of Ash's head stood up, he slowly turned to Dawn.

Her face was pale; she had bags under her eyes that at the moment were fluttering open and close. Ash had regained most of the color in his face as had most of the others, it was right now that he noticed Dawn had remained pale.

"This is just the place where I got my third gym badge. Hey Dawn, are you feeling okay?" Ash asked.

"I'm just kinda tired and hungry" she replied weakly, placing most of her body weight against Ash. Dawn hadn't planned that this would happen, her eyes becoming harder to keep open.

Ash was wondering if Dawn even noticed his goose bumps when Pikachu's ears twitched.

* * *

Sandslash's back spines quivered in reaction to the feeling of movement, he could sense anything moving the town as long as it touched the ground. AJ knew Sandslash well; there were no words necessary to understand that Sandslash had found something in the town. Without a single question, both darted in the same direction, simultaneously, leaving Meowth clueless behind them.

* * *

Pikachu jumped in front of both Ash and Dawn, sparks flying from its crimson cheeks in warning. Something slid instantly into view; it's body three times as large as Pikachu.

His lightning bolt tail flicked menacingly, sparks flew in response to Pikachu's warning from his golden cheeks. His tan fur stood on end, poised in the same attack position as Pikachu.

The connection was instant, too fast for any person to read or comprehend. The sparks suddenly stopped flying. Pikachu and the Raichu relinquished their battle positions at the same times.

"What is it Raichu?" the gruff voice asked from behind the wall, "Is the Pokemon dead already?"

Ash recognized the towering figure before him; the shadow of the colossal man loomed over him.

Lt. Surge turned and stared at Ash, freezing at the sight of him and staring as if Ash had grown three heads. This lasted only for only a few seconds before he regained his composure and laughed.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised ta see ya alive" Surge laughed.

Pikachu and Raichu turned in unison, feeling the murderous intent heading their way. Sandslash burst through the ground, Pikachu reacting quickly and placing itself between both Pokemon before they could attack.

Sandslash was going to slash and Raichu had just about to unleash an electric attack, but stopped when Pikachu got in the way. At the sight of a person and the sudden stop of the other Pokemon, Sandslash understood that this was a friend.

AJ came only a few seconds after, confusing Surge for a Pokemon at first from the sheer height of the man. Surge took another look at AJ, laughing once more at the sight.

"I guess this world's fair after all" Surge hooted, pressing the palm of his hand against his forehead.

"Wait, do you know AJ?" Ash asked.

"This kid literally beat the crap out of me without even trying," he chuckled.

"AJ, tell your Sandslash to round up the others" Ash said.

AJ nodded, which was all the approval that Sandslash needed to obey the order, diving back into the earth.

"Is yer little friend there okay?" Surge asked, pointing at Dawn, leaning on Ash's shoulder. Ash turned to Dawn, seeing that her eyes were closed and that the entire time; she hadn't made a single comment.

"Dawn? Dawn wake up, are you okay? Dawn!" Ash said, shaking her gently but to no avail.

"Here, let me take her, I have a bed that she can lay down on" Surge offered, Ash and AJ helping Dawn over into Surge's arms. He picked her up like she was nothing, walking inside along with Raichu.

"You go inside, Ash. I'll stay out here and wait for the others," AJ volunteered.

Ash thanked him and entered into the gym, surprised to see that the interior was worse than the outside of the building. Hundreds of crushed cans of beer littered the floor; bottles of whiskey and vodka accompanied them. The stench of booze filled the air; there was a constant clattering as Ash kicked bottles out of his path.

The scorch marks literally painted the interior of the room, it seemed as though not a single inch hadn't been blackened. With little difficulty, Ash found the room where Surge had laid Dawn down.

The bed itself seemed to have escaped the havoc that had ravaged the rooms next door. The smell of burnt and booze still infiltrated the room making Ash decide whether or not it would be impolite to stop breathing while he was inside the gym.

"Ash?" Misty called from the door, Pikachu running over to the door before they could get out of the room.

"More people" Surge chuckled as he and Raichu walked outside with Ash.

Samurai could feel his heart rate accelerate at only the sight of the lieutenant. Tracy felt somewhat intimidated whereas the others had no change in their demeanor having seen this colossal man before.

"I'm impressed to see so many people survive, I recognize some of your faces like the cute girly over there" Surge pointed at Misty.

Misty blushed, hesitant to thank the lieutenant for the compliment with Ash watching; politely nodding instead. Brock changed the subject to Misty's gratitude, "Ash what happened to Dawn?"

"I don't know, she passed out and she was really pale, but I don't think she had a fever. She just said that she was tired and hungry," Ash explained.

"I think I might be able to explain" Jessie interceded, having all eyes turn towards her.

"Me and her usually talk at night and she's been telling me that she hasn't been sleeping very well. She says that she keeps having nightmares of her mother, she's really good at hiding it, but she's actually been depressed for a few weeks now. She's not like Misty who vents through anger and crying, or like the girl in Hoenn who shows her emotions a lot easier. Dawn is the silent type when it comes to this hardship, she's been bottling up inside this entire time" Jessie explained.

"If you knew all of this, then why didn't you tell us" Ash demanded angrily.

"She had me promise not to say anything to you so that none of you would worry about her. She swore that this was only temporary and that she would overcome it soon" Jessie countered defensively.

"I also noticed a few things myself," James added. "Whenever we eat, she's been eating less and less, probably because of her depression. I think another reason is that I've seen her worried about our food supply. She probably thinks that eating less will make our rations last longer."

"And what's your reason for withholding this?" Misty asked coldly.

"It's not like she made me promise her or anything, I just thought that the last few towns we visited would have more supplies and then she could eat without a care. Besides, it's not exactly comfortable to randomly spout things in the middle of our journey"

"So all she needs is food and rest, right? I don't see the big problem, we can get those things easily here I bet" AJ concluded.

"Actually, there really isn't much to scavenge around here" James replied dejectedly

"Well if it's food supplies that ya need, then I got plenty ta spare," Surge announced.

Everyone's mood lit up at the news, "You'd really do that for us?" Ash asked.

"Of course, I'm the one that looted what was left of the town, that's probably why you haven't found anything. I'll go check the stash." Surge said as he entered inside the gym.

"I'll come with you" Brock offered, proceeding inside only to be stopped by Ash's hand.

"Brock, I don't think it's a good idea that you go in," Ash warned.

"Why not?" Brock replied.

"It's…it's just that…well…I guess you'll just have to see for yourself" Ash said, letting Brock go.

The words made Brock hesitant to go inside now, but he went inside anyway. It was only a few seconds that they heard Brock scream, followed by a crunch.

When Ash and Misty went to see if he was okay they saw him sprawled out on the floor. He had slipped on a bottle and landed on another group of them directly behind him and broke them. Both of them suppressed a laugh after seeing that he wasn't hurt. It was after they helped him up that the smell reached Misty, almost making her gag.

She screeched in disgust and left the gym as fast as she could, taking deep breaths outside to clear the smell out of her mouth, throat, and senses.

"That's disgusting, how can anyone live like that? You could get drunk on the fumes in that place if you stayed long enough." Misty ranted furiously.

Brock had the insatiable need to clean the entire area. Everyone thought it would be safer if they stayed outside of the gym while Brock adorned his pink apron and wielded a broom.

Surge came out of the gym soon after, "I have all sorts of food for her to eat, right now let's let her sleep. First of all tell me what's happened to all of you. My story isn't very entertaining."

* * *

Once again, the story was being retold, the lieutenant began to hoot and holler in excitement at their odyssey unfold before him. Tracy had actually recorded their battle against the Kingler, which ended right when Ash's Kingler had returned victorious. They were just beginning to tell him the events that took place right after they had escaped from the giant Dragonite.

Ash's mind was a swirling blur of confusion, holding Pikachu tightly in his is arms. Holding in his scream made his chest hurt, forcing him to yell as loud as he could when the pain was too much to bear.

He had fallen from high distances before, but this time it was different. The shifting earth to his sides were moving in blurs. Up above, a large flash of light illuminated the entire abyss.

It was like looking at a miniature sun, growing rapidly in his direction. Ash could feel the heat from the Hyper Beam embrace him; growing stronger the closer the ball of fire came.

Real fear enveloped Ash now, the explosion getting closer and closer to him. The blast abruptly ended, shrouding everything back into shadows and darkness. Ash could no longer see the opening from above them; the rubble from the blast now sealed it off.

Brock felt like he was being flung every which way as he plummeted down and twirled as he went. The Gs were pulling at his face, making him want to throw up. He reached out and could only grab air. He summoned Steelix directly above them.

Steelix hadn't expected to be summoned, let alone being summoned in mid air. The giant metal snake descended even faster than Brock, Steelix angling its body so that its side steel pegs didn't hit Brock, or anyone else below them. Steelix did its best to miss everyone that fell beneath it, its swirling body carved trenches into the earth on its sides.

Scizor flung Tracy over his shoulder, his other arm wrapped around Misty. His free claw stabbed into the wall. He felt his arm nearly dislocate from the sudden shock of stopping. It was only thanks to his metal exoskeleton that it hadn't.

Scizor looked up; there was no point in flying back up now that the opening was gone, especially with what awaited them beyond.

Samurai held onto Dawn, unsheathing his blade and stabbing it into the earth as hard as he could. The blade sank in easily, dragging through the sand, granite, and bedrock until he slowly came to a stop. Samurai's heart was beating faster than ever, the exhilaration of seeing something so powerful, something inside him wanted to fight that Pokemon.

At first it was normal, but after a few seconds, weight and gravity began to tug at Samurai's heels, crawling up the rest of his body. As strong as he was, and as much stamina as he had, he wouldn't be able to hold himself and Dawn up any longer. He would not let go of his blade, one of the only gifts he had gotten from his father. Instead, if they were to die at the bottom, then he would take his sword with him.

It was then that the dirt in the earthy wound loosened and released the blade from its rocky sheath. Below them, Sandslash burst out of the side of the earth, spinning across the expanse of the fissure he had created.

Below Sandslash was Steelix, wedging itself horizontally with its steel pegs in between the fissure. Sandslash used Steelix as a road, spinning across to the other end of the endless ravine. It momentarily disappeared into the other side before coming back, and spinning on the center of Steelix's body.

The ground up remains of Sandslash's tunnels were pulled into a vortex as Sandslash used Sand Tomb. Samurai, Dawn, Jessie, James, Meowth, Mr. Mime, Ash, Pikachu and Brock landed in the sandy cushion of the attack made to catch them.

Sandslash waited until they were all in the center of the vortex before undoing the move, allowing everyone to land on Steelix's back. Scizor saw what had happened from above, letting go of the wall and flying safely down to the Pokemon platform.

Something shook the earth, followed by a bellowing angry roar from above. Pebbles and dust began to rain lightly down on them with every shake, each time closer than the last one. Tracy could only guess that the Dragonite was trying to get to them, it refused to be robbed of its revenge.

Boulders now began to fall on them; Mr. Mime moved them out of the way with Psychic. The quakes somewhat dislodged Steelix from its perch; its body slowly being dragged lower.

Sandslash moved quickly, curling up into a spiky ball and drilling through the dirt. It was gone for a few seconds before it returned, motioning for the others to follow it into the tunnels it had created. Ash ran through first, everyone quickly followed, leaving Steelix behind.

Sandslash continued to bore through the ground, the others giving him a wide berth lest they get caught in his spines or get pelted by the shredded stones. The tunnel took a turn and stopped. Everyone moved out of the way as Sandslash walked past them back the way they came.

Misty could hear Sandslash say something to Steelix in Pokemon, watching as Sandslash came back. There was a loud rumble, not from above, but from where they came from. A metallic blur went past them; Sandslash had made the tunnel they had gone into long enough to be safe and away from Steelix as it drilled through the ground.

The others left the divergent tunnel to see the hole the Steelix had left behind. Steelix's tunnel had left something the size of a cave, giving ample room to move in. the Fissure that they had fallen from began to close; the tiny fraction of tectonic plates that Sandslash had wedged slightly open were forcing themselves back into place.

Sandslash disappeared into a hole, coming back a minute later with AJ in his arms. Everyone rushed to AJ as Sandslash laid him down gingerly on the ground.

"Is he alright? What happened?" Misty asked, somewhat surprised at herself for showing honest worry for AJ despite her disapproval of his actions.

Sandslash began conversing with Meowth, Meowth translating only once the entire message had been told to him.

"He says dat dey tunneled unda ground ta escape da landslide, AJ ordered him ta use fissure so dat you guys could get away. He was so tired from runnin he passed out," Meowth explained.

Everyone's impression of AJ changed at that moment, the idea that AJ had wanted to save them made them all feel guilty. They had isolated him from the group because of his cruel actions and crude comments. Now, because of him, they were alive and able to live on for another day should fate permit them.

Steelix returned and explained through Meowth to convey to the others that it had burrowed through a mile of earth. Everyone summoned their plant Pokemon so to recycle the little air that they had. After an hour AJ and Pikachu awoke, being immediately briefed on what was happening after being hugged and thanked.

The only lights they had were from the pokeglovs, and after a while the power for the pokeglovs were running low. Pikachu was too drained to recharge the pokeglov, Dawn summoned Pachirisu in Pikachu's stead and recharged them without so much as a dent from Pachirisu's power reserves.

Samurai politely declined the offers to be helped through the cave with the assistance of their pokeglovs. What he didn't tell them was that he could actually see better than them with their pokeglovs. His eyes could easily pierce the void of darkness that they wandered. He could just close his eyes and focus, every time someone made a sound, the entire cave lit up for him.

Sandslash could create a mental picture in his head of what was happening above ground. He described what he saw to Meowth, explaining to the others what happened above.

Dragonite was using every move in its arsenal, leveling the entire forest and area. What they experienced from the Dragonite was nothing compared to what was happening now. Dust and stone constantly fell from the ceiling, reminding them of the chaos that rained over them above ground. Misty, Dawn, and Jessie eventually gave up trying to clean out their hair from all the dust and rubble.

They walked for hours, eventually stopping for a minute to eat which proved more difficult than they had expected.

The Kingler meat they had gotten needed to be cooked, but to do that they needed a fire. Making a fire in the tunnels would consume all of the air that they had left and were recycling. They were forced to discard the Kingler meat and use the last of the rations that they had saved.

Sandslash couldn't dig a hole for air since directly above them was an entire mile of bedrock that would take too long to dig through in one day. There were times when the tunnel began to completely collapse around them. Mr. Mime came out instantly, keeping the roof of the tunnel up with Psychic. Once they had enough distance from the collapsing area, Ash returned Mr. Mime into his pokeglov.

* * *

When they finished, Surge laughed once more, slapping his knees as he rocked back and forth. The entire telling had taken them into night, the moon and the stars out.

"I gotta say, from what you've shown me and from what I've heard, you guys have earned my respect" Surge said earnestly.

"We're done!" Brock announced from the door of the house.

"What did you do with the gym!" Surge yelled in surprise, as he took a step inside.

Ash and the others followed him inside, surprised to find the smell of booze almost non-existent. Nothing could really be done about the holes in the walls, but the charred floors and walls were now spotless. Every single bottle, can, and piece of glass that was on the floor was now gone.

"How did you do this?" Ash asked, his head swiveling in every direction as he looked at the new room.

Mr. Mime levitated all the things on the floor; Crobat blew out the smell through the windows. Misty's water Pokemon pressure cleaned the floor and Carnivine absorbed all the water. Dawn woke up a while ago so Jessie and Misty had a talk with her; she's eaten and feels a lot better. She's agreed to not starve herself for our sake seeing now what it does to her. She cried a little but I think she let it all out after the talk with her, I think it did her some good."

"Why didn't you tell us she was awake?" Ash asked.

"It wasn't necessary for you to come in, besides, the first thing she wanted to do when she woke up was take a bath. I finished off the rest of the cleaning while they all used the baths that were in the gym."

Ash's mind wandered on the thought for a few seconds when Surge yelled out, "let's have a party for the clean house and your survival."

Brock frowned, picturing the house in ruins from the party just after he had cleaned it. Everyone followed Surge to the kitchen, returning all of their Pokemon.

Surged walked over to the fridge in the kitchen, opening it up to reveal that half of it was stocked with beer and other alcoholic beverages.

"Anyone want a drink?" Surge offered; prepared to hand out a beer can.

"We're underage" Misty pointed out, clearly disapproving of Surge's remark.

"Who cares, the world's going ta hell, might as well have a drink or two. No one's gonna tell on you, I don't think anyone would care." Surge laughed.

"Actually, I'll take you on your offer" James said, taking the beer that Surge handed out. Jessie also took one; both of them leaving the room to drink in silence, then go to sleep. It had been a while since they drank anything alcoholic, but now it seemed appropriate, something that would help them forget and get away from all the worries they bore.

"So…what's your story?" Ash asked, watching Surge pull out another can from the fridge, downing it in a single gulp, and crush it into a disk by smashing it with the palm of his hand into his forehead.

"Not much to tell. Raichu went crazy one day, killed the rest of my Pokemon and the people that were here; nearly killed me and almost brought the building down." Surge motioned towards the walls at first but put his hand down now that they were scorch free.

"Same thing happened all over town, all phone connection went down, and not even mail was getting through. People started to worry and decided to take the cruise ship to visit their families. Not everyone left, half the town stayed and that's when the wild Pokemon started coming in. They started attacking the families, when I heard the commotion I sent Raichu out to take care of it. Thing is Raichu was just getting used to his own strength and started doing damage of his own."

AJ nodded, seeing as he had gone through a similar experience.

"People started leaving town out of fear, I had no reason to leave before with the boat. Good thing too, considerin what you told me about your incident, though I probably would've done what you did in the end faster. I ended up being the only resident here, weeks went by and the only form of entertainment that I got from the wild Pokemon that wandered in here was gone. I don't even get up in the morning to tell Raichu what to do. Now that no one's here, I let him go nuts with his moves as long as he doesn't do unnecessary damage. I guess the solitude was getting me depressed so I was thinking that I was gonna drink myself ta death. But seeing as how you got here, I think that there's more fun ways to die out there" Surge laughed.

"So does that mean you're joining us?" Tracy asked curiously.

"I don't see why not. These two over here have gained my respect a long time ago, and the fact that you guys have survived this long has earned you some respect from me"

"Don't a lot of people earn your respect?" Ash commented.

"Look here Ash, just because you've been winning most of your gym battles, doesn't mean that everyone does. It's actually a pretty rare occurrence for gym leaders. For every time I've lost, I've probably won fifty other battles" Surge clarified.

Ash turned to Brock and Misty who were former gym leaders; they nodded in agreement as well.

I'm really only following you cause I have respect for you, to be completely honest, I didn't really have any respect for anyone in this town except for my team mates and the Joy from the Pokemon center. People I respect are people like you, and my Raichu, he's like the son I never had" Surge said, ruffling the fur on Raichu's head. Raichu smiled proudly, trying to show no emotion, blinking away nonexistent tears.

"Ya know though, I think I like it this way, the world," Surge confessed.

Everyone in the room became dead silent, staring quizzically at the lieutenant as if they weren't sure that they had heard what he had said right.

"Don't look at me like that. If you don't agree that's fine, the way the world is now just brings me back to my younger years. Where the weak are killed, and the strong survive. I guess that's just war" Surge sighed.

"War?" Brock blurted out incredulously.

"Don't sound so shocked" Surge replied.

"Sorry, I just…this…"

"What? You don't think this is a war? Boy, take a look outside and tell me what you see. Violence, Death, Destruction, that's all war in my book. If what you told me is right, the wild Pokemon have already declared it. And from what you told me, your victories, that's just humanity fighting back, you guys are just the first. I've seen my share of battles; some were long drawn out fights, others were complete landslide victories. I'll admit that humanity got caught with their guard down, but we'll come back. This is by no means extermination, you've all fought back and won, that makes this a war. I'm no stranger to war."

"So I assume that you're joining us then?" Tracy asked.

"Yep, when do we leave?"

"Dawn" Ash declared.

"Perfect, the sooner the better, I go pack the supplies" Surge excused himself and began walking into a room.

"Ash, we need to talk" Tracy said grimly.

"About what?"

"Come outside" Tracy said, leaving the building and waiting a few yards from the door outside.

Ash followed, unsure of what this was all about.

* * *

"What's the big deal?"

"Why did you invite him?"

"What d'ya mean why?"

"Ash, we can't just invite every person that we meet"

"So what would you suggest that we do with survivors we find then?" Ash asked testily.

"I…I don't know, but we can't bring him with us"

"Why not, one more person isn't gonna make a difference, he can-"

"Ash, you said back in Pewter City that we couldn't take Brock's family because they were too many people and would be a big target. You're contradicting yourself right now by bringing him"

"I didn't bring them along because they can't fight, and you know that we need all the help we can get in this world"

"Ash, we're running out of food, one person does make a difference, and it's a big difference. Look at Dawn, she's been starving herself so that we could eat, if she hadn't, we may not have had food down in the tunnels"

"We'll get more food, Surge has a bunch we can jus-"

"Ash you say things and they sound easy, but they're not, this is reality, come back to it. We are straying off task, we went to find a safe place, we-"

"_You_ want to go find a safe place, Tracy. I'm starting to think that AJ was right. But let's say we do find this _safe_ place, what then? Are we the only people that can be in the safe place, the people that you want to give the Pokemon back to, are you just gonna send them off into the world. You said Brock's home was too small, and that was place in my opinion was huge. If our safe place is supposed to be so big, then why not shelter survivors. That's been my mission, I'm gonna find survivors and take them with us. If they can fight, that's great, if they can't, we'll protect them. The way I see it Tracy, a haven is useless if it doesn't protect as many people as it can."

"Who died and made you leader?" Tracy yelled.

The conversation that had started in whispers had escalated into a dull roar and then into shouting.

"I could ask you the same thing, why don't we ask the group?" Ash suggested.

"There's no need, I've been leading this group since Pallet Town, _I've _made all the plans, _I've_ given the orders and everyone's followed them. We've survived because of _me_!"

"We've survived because of our Pokemon, most of them being mine" Ash countered. "Tracy, you're telling me that I'm off task. I think it's actually you that's off task. When I do something, like offer a person to join our group, I don't do it only out of kindness. I'm doing it because I know Oak would've tried to save every single person he could. You know he would, you've lived with him long enough to know he's the type of man that would try to save anyone in the face of any difficulty, whether it was food or danger." Ash concluded, turning away and walking back inside the gym, leaving Tracy, standing in silence.

There was nothing Tracy could do to counter Ash's remark with, what he said was mostly true. If it weren't for Ash's Pokemon, they wouldn't have gotten as far as they had now. Ash's mission to save others was more like something that the Oak he knew would do. Tracy's hand covered his face.

"Have _I_ really been the one who's off task Oak?" Tracy whispered into the silent, black night.

* * *

Surge opened up a crate, pulling out a combat knife about a foot long and two and a half inches wide. He sheathed it into a slot in the back of his outfit, making sure it was secure, but at the same time, making sure that he could summon it at a moments notice.

After he was satisfied, he pumped his fists through the air to see if his skills were rusty. Surge took a deep breath, staring at the night sky. This would be the second war he had ever been in, this time it was against Pokemon. With a smile and a chuckle, he headed towards his bed, unsure if he was even going to be able to sleep with the idea of the future battles on the horizon.

* * *

**To be Continued in, Poke Wars: The Coalescence **


End file.
